Over recent years the community awareness of depression as a major problem has been increasing. In Australia there have been programs such as the "Beyondblue Initiative." Beyondblue is a bipartisan initiative of the Australian, state and territory governments with a key goal of raising community awareness about depression and reducing stigma associated with the illness. Initiatives such as this have led many high profile Australians to come forward and discuss how their lives have been impacted by depression and helping to relieve the stigma that tended to attach to depression and other mental illnesses.

The World Health Organisation projects an increasing global health burden caused by depression. Depression is currently the highest medical cause of disability worldwide and predicted to be the second highest medical cause of death and disability worldwide by 2020.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which includes Acupuncture and Herbal medicine have a long history of effective use in assisting those with depression. One of the common herbs used to treat depression is Chai Hu (Radix Burpleuri), it occurs in many formulas which are used to treat a range of presentations involving depression. One formula "Xiao Yao San" studied by Zang ZJ, was involved in a twelve week double-blind trial and found to have an excellent response in both unipolar and bipolar depression, furthermore they found that a combination of this formula with standard drug treatment provided better results than the drug treatment alone. Xiao Yao San reduced the adverse side effects of the drug and the numbers of people that discontinued treatment.

Another formula that has been studied is ChaiHu GuiZhi GanJiang Tang, this study involved peri- and post-menopausal women who were experiencing depression. In this study the herbs provided much greater reduction in chemical markers of stress and appeared to be more effective than anti-depressant drugs. Other studies on different Chinese herbal formulas are gradually revealing some of the mechanisms by which the may work. However at this time the vast clinical experience of TCM practitioners (that has built up over time) is the best guide to the construction or design of effective treatments for those suffering depression.