In clear, nontechnical language, the American Medical Association explains the latest findings on depression, the complex mood disorder that affects nearly 17 million Americans each year. Distinguishing depression from the everyday "blues," this comprehensive guide provides solid, detailed answers to such questions as:

• What is depression? Characteristics and symptoms of depressive illnesses are fully explained, including major depression, bipolar or manic depression, dysthymia, seasonal affective disorder, and more
• Who is at risk for depression? Age, gender and personality factors are discussed, as well as physiological, genetic, emotional, and environmental causes
• What are the latest treatment options? The full spectrum of prescription medications is profiled, as well as the wide range of psychotherapeutic and complementary approaches
• Who can treat depressive illness? A section on medical and mental health professionals and their qualifications provides guidelines for choosing the best care
• How can I help a loved one? Here is expert advice on how to encourage a family member to seek help; handle destructive or suicidal behavior; know when hospitalization is needed; recognize depression in children and older people; and much more.

With a listing of mental health organizations and resources and a glossary of medical terms, the American Medical Association Essential Guide to Depression presents all the information you need to help yourself or others manage this serious but highly treatable illness.

Recently, Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology has been breaking boundaries worldwide. Finds such as the Mesolithic house at Howick, the sequencing of the Neanderthal genome, and the recently discovered footprints at Happisburgh all serve to indicate how archaeologists in these fields are truly at the cutting edge of understanding humanity s past. This volume celebrates this trend by focusing on recent advances in the study of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic. With contributors from a diverse range of backgrounds, it allows for a greater degree of interdisciplinary discourse than is often the case, as the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic are generally split apart. Wild Things brings together contributions from major researchers and early career specialists, detailing research taking place across the British Isles, France, Portugal, Russia, the Levant and Europe as a whole, providing a cross-section of the exciting range of research being conducted. By combining papers from both these periods, it is hoped that dialogue between practitioners of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology can be further encouraged. Topics include: the chronology of the Mid-Upper Palaeolithic of European Russia; territorial use of Alpine high altitude areas by Mesolithic hunter-gatherer; discussing the feasibility of reconstructing Neanderthal demography to examine their extinction; the funerary contexts from the Mesolithic burials at Muge; the discovery of further British Upper Palaeolithic parietal art at Cathole Cave; exploitation of both lithics and fauna in Palaeolithic France; and an analysis of Mesolithic/Neolithic trade in Europe."