Depression Epidemic Analysis

At the individual level, lack of proper treatment for poor mental health and mental illness has a detrimental effect. At a population level, society also suffers from the burden resulting from the lack of treatment options for poor mental health and mental illness, due to loss of productivity from those crippled by poor mental health and mental illness. Evidence has begun to emerge showing that lack of treatment for mental illness -specifically depressive disorders - has been linked “with increased prevalence of chronic diseases.” Currently it is estimated about 26% of adults in the United States suffer from depression.

“Recent data estimate the overall prevalence of depression at about 11.1% of the American population, or nearly 35 million individuals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). A predictive models suggest that up to 50% of the population will experience at least one episode of depression during their lives” (Life Extension, 2014). Depression has negatively affected the lives of many individuals throughout the world. Look around you there may even be someone close to you that is demonstrating signs of its stifling affects. Depression does not discriminate with its suffocating

The best way for society to combat depression is to become as informed as possible and use our knowledge of the

There is an illness like none other, that sweeps across nations but is not contagious. It withdraws any and all feelings of all from from every area of life. Many experience it after a specific situation that elicits extreme sadness, loss, or pain. Other’s feel it for no apparent reason and are left seemingly to fend for themselves in the only dark abyss that they know. This malady is known as depression affects many people of all kinds every singly year. If the world knew how depression truly affects its victims, it would realize it’s not merely a mood or emotion one experiences, but rather a true and physical disease.

However, with changes in society it has come to describe those who suffer from pervasive lowering of mood preventing them from living a normal life. Conditions range from person to person. It may vary from mild, brief occasional dips in a person's mood to a severe lifelong persistence in extensive depressive episodes characterizing a person with intense feelings of self-worthlessness. Overall depression is a very common mental health disorder, however it is still highly misunderstood. This disorder is seen to be “one of the greatest, if not the greatest disease burden of the twenty first century”. (Mulholland.1) As this disorder brings distress to millions of households across the nation, it is frequently misdiagnosed or simply not seen as an issue of concern at all. Leading to “a great deal of suffering and a substantial number of deaths”. (Mulholland.1) Alas, the condition sadly evokes a lot of stigma. The lack of personal experience and knowledge residing with most people causes feelings of superiority in those who the condition does not affect. This causes tears in the social fabric and worsens things for those that do have

According to the World Health Organization, depression is an illness that affects more than 300 million people (World Health Organization, 2018). Depression is the manifestation of complex intersecting social, psychological factors and can significantly disrupt the day-to-day functions of sufferers (WHO, 2018). As a mood disorder, depression causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest (Mayo Clinic, 2018). Common symptoms of the disorder included feelings of sadness, hopelessness, irritability, loss of interest, sleep disturbances, anxiety and a myriad of other troublesome symptoms (Mayo Clinic, 2018). Depression, unlike a host of other morbidities, has a unique manifestation in all those it affects and may not

In this day and age depression is a catchword. It is applied to all imaginable situations, from grieving after the loss of a loved one to simple foul moods. Although such a loose usage of the word is hardly warranted, the statistics of the World Health Organization suggest that there is some real basis behind it: about 4-5% of the world's population suffer from depression, and it is the reason behind about 60% of all suicides (1). United States is ahead of the world's quota in this sad race: according to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 9.5% of the population (or about 18.8 million adults) experience a depressive disorder in any given year (2). With such

What is depression? Depression is an illness that can take over a person’s life---it can take their happiness and their will to live. This illness can effect adults, teenagers, and even kids. “Depression is an equal opportunity disorder---- it can affect anyone of any group, any background, any race, any gender, and any age. It is the great leveler of all groups and can take the greatest and the smallest of us all and reduce us to the pain and nothingness that is depression (Nydegger 1)”. Depression is an emotion most people may feel they have experienced, but little do they know it’s just the basic emotions we feel. It is important to identify the symptoms of depression, the types of depression, who can get them and how they manifest, in

The soldier’s hands shake, his eyes dart around the room, sweat is dripping down his brow. Suddenly there is a screech of tires and yelling. He raises his gun and shoves the muzzle of the gun against the head of his target. BANG! The police officer kicks down the door, seeing the veteran holding a gun against his own head. He lowers his arm, takes the weapon, and escorts the veteran home. Unfortunately, situations like this happen often but many don’t end as happily. Most people believe veteran depression, comes from trauma suffered in combat, but in actuality the majority of veterans experience feelings of being out of place and lost after the war which can lead to suicide. The only way they know how to live is in an environment of

Depression has the potential to affect the family dynamic, career, and community systems such as school settings and public healthcare. It is estimated that annual expenditures of depression in the United States of America account in excess of $80 billion

Central Idea: Depression is caused by many different things, has many symptoms and can also be treated in many ways.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, “Nearly three million Australians live with depression and/or anxiety, which affects their wellbeing, personal relationships, career and productivity”. It is true that the real definition of depression is skewed amongst those in society. Some chose to believe that depression is a normal reaction to life’s stresses, like losing a loved one, getting fired from a job, going through a divorce, and other difficult situations, and that only when these feelings come without reason and persist long term should it be seen as a serious concern. Others believes that depression is no more than a sad feeling that is ignorable, only revealed to people for the sake of attention and the care that comes from pity and sympathy. Personally, I believe that depression is a scientifically proven mental illness, and as it dramatically alters one’s self and has become prevalent in society, it should be discussed with the gravity and urgency deserved to such a pressing topic.

One of the scariest emotional experiences a person can ever suffer during their lifetime is to experience a form of depression. Over one in five Americans can expect to get some form of depression in their lifetime. Over one in twenty Americans have a depressive disorder every year. Depression is one of the most common and most serious mental health problems facing people today. However, depression is often not taken seriously because of the large use of antidepressant drugs and the large number of sufferers. Depression is a serious illness and should be taken as so. Contrary to the popular misconceptions about depression today, it is a serious and deadly disorder.1

Depression is the most common of all psychological disorders, affecting 100 million people worldwide. The depression ranges from mild feelings of uneasiness, sadness, and apathy to intense suicidal despair. (Kasschau) If left untreated, it could lead the

Sadness is how the human being reacts to the loss of a loved one, the struggles of life, the disappointments, and the frustrations. Although it is a normal feeling in all these situations, there is a broad difference between being sad and being depressed. Unlike normal feelings of sadness, depression overwhelms a person, last a long time, and interferes with his or her day-to-day life. According to the World Health Organization in 2010, depression was reported as the most common mental disorder; it affects 120 million people globally and is among the leading causes of disability. The person that suffers from depression has to deal with being misunderstood and under-diagnosed on a daily basis, which leaves the patient with physical,