I think that the gradual acceptance that mental illness is not a "character flaw" has caused more people to seek psychological treatment. This in turn causes the number of people diagnosed with depression to shoot upwards, but it doesn't necessarily indicate that more people are depressed now than in the past.

I would say that now that depression is recognised as a true medical condition and not just a catchall term for people who were feeling down, there is much greater acceptance by the medical profession for diagnosing people with it, as well as greater acceptance by the general public that it is a proper illness. There is greater emphasis on mental illnesses both at medical school and post-graduation than there has ever been, the causes may still not be completely elucidated but we are beginning to have an idea on what causes them based on how drugs that have positive effects work on the brain etc. This means that doctors feel like the patients are actually suffering afrom a genuine complaint (at least some of them anyway) rather than just feeling "off", and the large volume of publication regarding this and other mental illnesses not well described afew decades ago allow for tighter, more sensitive and stringent diagnosis and treatment plans for patients. All in all, there may not be more sufferers, but there is greater acceptance, but more importantly there is more professional emphasis on the importance of mental health and so more public and professional attention to it. The increase in cases is as a result of acceptance of it as a genuine conditiona and so an established diagnosis protocol.

Both. In days of old many people, especially the highly intelligent and sensitive ones used to suffer from 'melancholia'. This is the term that was used back then. They often wrote long brooding novels or poetry, or get lost in alcohol. Today, since the media has been advertising depression drugs, people identify their low feelings with this diagnosis and tend to get pills to take those feelings away. Our society, though rich in material wealth, tends to be emotionally unsatisfying. People rarely know their neighbors anymore and tend to be more plugged in to the media than to each other. This cultural shift can certainly contribute to depression.

i think in the past people where afraid to say they where depressed and today people find it much easier to speak up. i do think a lot of people say they are depressed when they are not though. depression is a lot more than just feeling sad.