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Depression strikes more Americans than cancer, AIDS, or coronary heart disease


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Depression strikes more Americans than cancer, AIDS, or coronary heart disease
Depression strikes about 17 million American adults each year--more than cancer, AIDS, or coronary heart disease--according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). An estimated 15 percent of chronic depression cases end in suicide. Women are twice as likely as men to be affected.

Many people simply don't know what depression is. "A lot of people still believe that depression is a character flaw or caused by bad parenting," says Mary Rappaport, a spokeswoman for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. She explains that depression cannot be overcome by willpower, but requires medical attention.

Fortunately, depression is treatable, says Thomas Laughren, M.D., team leader for psychiatric drug products in FDA's division of neuropharmacological drug products.

In the past 13 years, the Food and Drug Administration has approved several new antidepressants, including Wellbutrin (bupropion), Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), Paxil (paroxetine), Effexor (venlafaxine), Serzone (nefazodone), and Remeron (mirtazapine).

According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), 80 to 90 percent of all cases can be treated effectively. However, two-thirds of the people suffering from depression don't get the help they need, according to NIMH. Many fail to identify their symptoms or attribute them to lack of sleep or a poor diet, the APA says, while others are just too fatigued or ashamed to seek help.

Left untreated, depression can result in years of needless pain for both the depressed person and his or her family. And depression costs the United States an estimated $43 billion a year, due in large part to absenteeism from work, lost productivity, and medical costs, according to the National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association.


Diagnosing the Disease

Medical professionals generally base a diagnosis of depressive disorder on the presence of certain symptoms listed in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. The DSM (presently in the fourth edition) lists the following symptoms for depression:

* depressed mood
* loss of interest or pleasure in almost all activities
* changes in appetite or weight
* disturbed sleep
* slowed or restless movements
* fatigue, loss of energy
* feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
* trouble in thinking, concentrating, or making decisions
* recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.

The diagnosis depends on the number, severity and duration of these symptoms.
sunkisthappy

6 responses // Depression strikes more Americans than cancer, AIDS, or coronary heart disease

  • With the state of our country who wouldn't be depressed. I know I sometimes feel I am.
    mkillackey3
  • you libs make people depressed
    jeromecon
  • It's not surprising. And more and more males seem to be seeking treatment. I know depression is mostly caused by neuro chemicals, but people should take preventative measures by relieving stress, eating properly, and getting enough sleep.
    handshakeheartbreak
  • There is no, convincing physical evidence that depression is caused by bio-chemical imbalances. That's a myth. And that article sounds like it was written by a pharmaceutical company.

    I think our culture makes it so hard for us to be happy but so easy for us to be depressed. Constantly striving for success at all costs (almost always happiness) we nd up with a shallow lifestyle and nothing REAL to show for it.

    Add in a incompetent government, destruction of civil rights, preemptive war, a sinking economy, and the result is exactly depression.
    jef_jef
  • Depression is not always due to a pre-existing chemical imbalance in the brain. In my unprofessional opinion, being depressed is sometimes just plain natural. Excessive sadness is the appropriate response to excessively sad circumstances.

    For example, combine a death in the family, plus the normal stresses of a demanding job, plus a divorce or some other trouble with family and friends. It's amazing how it can all come crashing down at once, and indeed, how often it does for so many of us.

    Having been in such circumstances myself, I can honestly say that I would have been worried if I didn't become depressed for a little while.

    On the other hand, if one is experiencing severe depression symptoms with no apparent circumstantial cause, then of course that person should seek medical help. It probably is a neuro-chemical issue in that case.

    For those of you who have mentioned the evils of the pharmaceutical industry, I agree with you whole-heartedly. If they had their way, those money grubbers would have us all believing that any type of anxiety or depression is just not natural, and that we desperately need whatever new psych. meds they are developing now.

    Oh, wait. Many people are convinced.

    Damn, now that's depressing.
    ladyshiba
  • Anti-depressants can actually be very helpful. They are most helpful when used to fight off the worst of symptoms. When those are out of the way, a psychiatric evaluation can be performed followed by therapy. Low-dose Anti-depressants combined with therapy is most successful.

    ... also feeling depressed is natural sometimes for those with stable minds, but please discourage the urge to believe that depressed persons should just "get over it" or "snap out of it". It is actually this kind of thinking that does the most damage because it prevents depressed people from seeking help.



    From /www.wingofmadness.com:

    a study in which 75% of adults said that someone with depression could get better just by being more positive. Can you imagine the same 75% saying that someone who is paralyzed just needs to work out more, or that someone who is mentally retarded just needs to think "power thoughts"?

    This attitude is dangerous for a couple of reasons. First, the number one cause of suicide is untreated depression. Why don't people get treatment for depression? Probably because they are being told by society, well-meaning family and friends and their own misconceptions of mental illness that depression is just a mood that they should be able to control. They believe that a life-threatening illness can be managed by happy talk and an upbeat demeanor. I know what I'm talking about. I tried for years to defeat my (undiagnosed) depression by thinking of reasons I was lucky and telling myself that that cold empty feeling had no cause and therefore didn't have any validity. It's like trying to treat diabetes by skipping dessert. It doesn't work, and it's dangerous to your health.

    The second reason this "talk yourself out of it" attitude is dangerous is that depression can be caused by an undiagnosed illness such as heart disease, thyroid dysfunction, cancer, infectious diseases and immune/autoimmune disorders. Depression can even be brought on by vitamin or mineral deficiencies or prescription and over-the-counter drugs. If you don't treat depression as an illness and get yourself checked out by a physician or psychiatrist, you run the risk of leaving a serious illness undiagnosed.

    If you are experiencing any of the symptoms of depression, make an appointment to see a doctor. If you know someone who seems to be showing the symptoms, encourage him or her to see a doctor. Don't believe the myth that we can "handle" depression on our own.
    sunkisthappy

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