Right now, more than 1 in 10 Americans take medicines for depression—a number that has risen during the pandemic.

And why do people get depression, anyway?

But how do those drugs work?

Experts still don't know all the answers to these questions.

After all, the brain is a complicated place.

But they do know that depression has its roots in everything from the genes we're born with,

At the same time, they do know that a lot of people with depression get help from antidepressant drugs

The critical thing is for people with depression symptoms to reach out for help

Such medicines, called SSRIs, are far from perfect, he says. But there's plenty of evidence they work for many people.