While we all try to find happiness, sometimes we still end up feeling low. While most people can control this feeling, low moods (情绪) can stay with some, leading to depression (抑郁).

虽然我们所有人都在努力寻求快乐，但有时我们还是会心情低落。尽管大多数人能控制好这种情绪，但一些人却会陷入其中，导致抑郁。

About 322 million people suffered from depression in 2015, according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) in February. This is more than 4 percent of the world’s population.

据世界卫生组织2月发布的一项调查报告显示，2015年全球大约有3.22亿人饱受抑郁症的煎熬。这一数字已超过全球总人口的4%。

Depression is described by the WHO as a mental disorder¹ (精神病). It has several symptoms (症状) including sadness, loss of interest and feelings of low self-worth. In severe cases, depression may lead to suicide (自杀).

世界卫生组织将抑郁症界定为一种精神疾病，表现为悲伤、丧失兴趣、感觉自己没有价值等多种症状。在严重的情况下，抑郁症可能会导致患者自杀。

The number of people living with depression is increasing. The WHO reported a rise of 18.4 percent between 2005 and 2015. This is not only because the world’s overall population grew, but also because life expectancies² (寿命) rose.

郁抑症患者的人数正日益上升。世界卫生组织报告称，2005年至2015年这十年间，抑郁症患者的人数上升了18.4%。这并不仅仅是由于世界总人口的增长，更是因为人均寿命的增加。

There are three age groups that are particularly likely to develop depression.

有三类人群尤其容易患上抑郁症。

One group is the elderly (年长的), while another group is women who are pregnant (怀孕的) or have just given birth.

一种是老年人，还有一种是孕妇或者产妇。

In addition, young people are another group known to suffer with depression. “The pressures on today’s youth are like no other generation, perhaps,” Dan Chisholm of the WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse told Reuters.

除此之外，年轻人是已知的易患上抑郁症的第三类人群。“现今年轻人所承受的压力或许和之前几代人完全不一样，”世界卫生组织精神卫生和物质滥用部门的丹·奇泽姆在接受路透社采访时表示。

In China, depression among young people is on the rise, Zhu Zhuohong, a psychology³ (心理学) professor with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Xinhua News Agency. Competition to outperform others, especially in education, can cause a lot of pressure for Chinese youth.

中国科学院心理学教授祝卓宏在接受新华社采访时表示，在中国，年轻人中抑郁症患者的数量正在不断增加。赶超他人的竞争，尤其在教育方面，会给中国年轻人带来巨大的压力。

Almost 1.2 million Chinese people aged 15 to 24 suffer from depression, according to a report released by British science journal The Lancet in May.

据英国科学期刊《柳叶刀》去年五月发布的一项报告显示，几乎有120万15-24岁的中国年轻人饱受抑郁症的困扰。

“My parents always tell me my classmates are competitors. So I take them as my enemies and feel upset whenever I see them,” Xiao Min, a 14-year-old sufferer of depression, told Xinhua.

“我的父母总是和我说，我的同学们都是竞争对手。所以我将他们视作敌人，每当我看见他们，我都会觉得难受，”今年14岁的抑郁症患者小敏（音译）在接受新华社采访时表示。

Luckily, more and more efforts are being made to deal with this problem. This year’s World Health Day, held on April 7, will focus on depression. The day will highlight (强调) the “Depression: let’s talk” campaign. The campaign aims to make sure that people with depression both seek (寻求) and get help.

幸运的是，为解决这一问题人们正在做出更多的努力。今年于4月7日举办的世界健康日关注的就是抑郁症这一主题。当天将启动一项名为“抑郁症：我们来谈谈”的活动，致力于确保抑郁症患者能够寻求并获得帮助。

“We feel that this is a key first step. If we want to bring mental health, depression and other mental disorders⁴ out of the shadows (阴影), we need to be able to talk about them,” said Chisholm.

“我们认为这是关键的第一步。如果我们不想让精神卫生、抑郁症和其他精神疾病躲在阴影里，我们（首先）需要能够谈论这些疾病，”奇泽姆表示。