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Written by Dr Bob
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Feeling down, blue, depressed even? You are not alone. The World Health Organization says that the incidence depression is doubling every ten years and will be, by 2020, the most pervasive illness in the world (it is currently second to heart disease) and the second major cause of death. The good news is that, with help, you can beat it.
In the US and Australia, and throughout the western world, a pall of stigma and secrecy still surrounds this experience. And a pervasive ignorance. For example depression is seen as largely a disease of women. In fact, although no one can agree on just how many people in Australia suffer from it, the received wisdom is that women are hit twice as often as men. No man wants to admit to having a woman's illness, or to be out of control of his emotions, which are the province of women. Yet the most recent studies indicate that men suffer depression in almost equal numbers as women — even post natal depression, according to a recent UK study! — and the male suicide rate is skyrocketing (there are 30,000 suicides in the US compared to a total of 20,000 homicides). Male depressive symptoms can include aggressiveness, isolation — marriage to a computer for example, or web-surfing — and drinking more than he should.
And depression, far from being confined to the 'mind' or to the emotions, is a major contributory factor, according to the latest research, in so-called 'physical' ailments such as osteoporosis and heart disease. In fact one US study found that 80 percent of all people who visit physicians suffer from depression.
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Written by Dr Bob
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Depression is one of the greatest problems and killers of our time. Here we list the latest depression statistics, reveal surprising facts about underlying depression causes, the failure of standard treatments, and what works for depression in the long-term.
- Depression Statistics
- Why Standard Treatments are Inadequate
- Depression Causes
- Depression and Illness
- Effective Depression Recovery
- References and Further Reading
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Depression Statistics
- Depressive disorders affect approximately 18.8 million American adults or about 9.5% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. This includes major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar disorder. [1]
- Everyone, will at some time in their life be affected by depression -- their own or someone else's, according to Australian Government statistics. (Depression statistics in Australia are comparable to those of the US and UK.) [2]
- Pre-schoolers are the fastest-growing market for antidepressants. At least four percent of preschoolers -- over a million -- are clinically depressed. [3]
[Pill-Popping Pre-Schoolers | Even Toddlers Get the Blues]
- The rate of increase of depression among children is an astounding 23% p.a. [4]
- 15% of the population of most developed countries suffers severe depression. [5]
- 30% of women are depressed. Men's figures were previously thought to be half that of women, but new estimates are higher. [6]
- 54% of people believe depression is a personal weakness. [7]
- 41% of depressed women are too embarrassed to seek help. [8]
- 80% of depressed people are not currently having any treatment. [9]
- 92% of depressed African-American males do not seek treatment. [10]
- 15% of depressed people will commit suicide. [11]
- Studies show depression is a contributory factor to fatal coronary disease. [12]
[Depression Link to Heart Disease | Hostility, Depression May Boost Heart Disease]
- Depression results in more absenteeism than almost any other physical disorder and costs employers more than US$51 billion per year in absenteeism and lost productivity, not including high medical and pharmaceutical bills. [13]
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Written by Dr Bob
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The couple sitting opposite me in my Tampa offices look like a nice couple. They are polite to each other. They even love each other, so they say. But the marriage is ending. She wants out.
“I can't live with his depression,” she says almost as soon as they've sat down. “It's his negativity, he's constant looking on the dark side of everything. And I'm always making excuses for him--he won't let me tell people the truth about his depression, so I have to lie for him!”
Living, working or having a close relationship with somebody who suffers from depression is not easy, even if they're one of the lucky 30% who is really helped by antidepressants. Often they feel guilty, or ashamed, about being depressed. Sometimes their depression will take the form of anger at you or others. Sometimes it may cause them to sabotage or harm themselves. If they're honest they will complain of the pain the illness causes, if they're less than frank they'll withdraw or blame you for their depressed state. You may well feel you're in a lose-lose situation.
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