Comedian actor and Oscar-award winning Robin Williams battled severe depression, dies at the age of 63.

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The death of Robert Williams rocked the entertainment world on Monday, his publicist said in a statement that he’d been “battling severe depression” that led him to suicide.

According to WebMD Health News, "numerous U.S. adults suffer depression. Often, medication and psychotherapy help their moods and outlook about life. But for others, hopelessness still reigns even if there’s a treatment."

In addition, WebMD reports that " "Depression is a very difficult illness to treat because it has genetic underpinnings with environmental stressors," said Scott Krakower, DO, the assistant unit chief of psychiatry at The Zucker Hillside Hospital North Shore-LIJ Medical Group."

" Those with fame, power and success aren't immune. "You could be having a really great life, a successful life, and be really depressed," Krakower said. "

"The other thing that might affect depression is, “Physical illness, especially chronic [long-term] illness, can worsen depression," according to Lon Schneider, MD., a professor of psychiatry, neurology, and gerontology at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.  “Alcohol or other drugs can also affect depression,” added Schneider."

Some facts about depression:

1.   Depression is more common in women than in men, according to Washington University.

2.   Men's symptoms of depression may be harder for other people to recognize, and the illness is missed more frequently in men, said Jill Goldstein, director of research at the Connors Center for Women's Health and Gender Biology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

3.   Depressed men may also try to mask their sadness by turning to other outlets, such as watching TV, playing sports and working excessively, or engaging in risky behaviors, Goldstein told Live Science in an interview. 

4.    By the year 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that depression will be the number two cause of "lost years of healthy life" worldwide.

5.    According to Mayo Clinic, symptoms of depression extend far beyond feeling sad, and may include:

·         loss of interest

·         pleasure in normal activities

·         irritability

·         agitation or restlessness

·          lower sex drive

·          decreased concentration

·          insomnia or excessive sleeping

·         chronic fatigue and lethargy  

IF THESE SYMPTOMS PERSIST or IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO SUFFERS FROM DEPRESSION, 

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