Torment of depression not easy to spot

ON SUNDAY, the police in Jinan, East China's Shandong province, announced the results of their investigation into the deaths of an entire family, concluding a man had killed his wife and two sons, along with his parents, before setting fire to their sixth-floor apartment and committing suicide by jumping out of the window. Hebei.com.cn comments:

The police did not say why the man killed his family and committed suicide, but there were clues in the news release, which stated that he frequently visited websites for treating depression before his death and a variety of drugs for treating mental illness were found in his desk. He also left behind pessimistic writing expressing his feelings and concerns about the future for his family.

It seems reasonable to conclude therefore that the man was suffering from severe depression. It is still not known why some people suffer such extreme depression, but the latest research shows that although depression is not hereditary, it has high possibility of inheritance.