The Depression Epidemic: Todd And Linda, Everyman

Depression is pervasive in both mental health and medical settings. In the US, the number of discharges with major depressive disorder as first-listed diagnosis was estimated 395,000 for 2010. The CDC also cites the percentage of persons 12 years of age and older with depression in any 2-week period at an estimated 8% between 2007-2010 (CDC, 2015). The American Psychiatric Associates guidelines on treatment of Major Depressive Disorder recommend the ongoing monitoring of symptoms among patients. Specifically, the APA recommends “systemically assessing symptoms of illness and the effects of treatment”. Consideration is given to matching clinical observations with clinician and/or patient administered rating scale measurements for initial and ongoing evaluation (American Psychiatric Association,

Some say that “doctors are overdosing normal sadness to major depression” and that antidepressants actually make the situation worse or bring on depression that wasn’t there. For some people taking antidepressants may have effective results for a short time, but they actually increase the odds of chronical illness. Society is becoming more isolated and independent , where people live daily in irritation and aggressive lifestyles, which causes people to rebel. That everyday we all go through periods of hopelessness, which is true, but depression is where it's constant and tears you apart.” The most common explanations for the mental illness epidemic include recent overdiagnosis of psychiatric disorders, diagnostic expansionism, and psychiatry's pathologizing normal behavior”( ), or that it's easier to qualify or check the box for depression for a lot more people. Mental Illnesses put a lot of stress and disorder in the hostess life and isn’t just an over diagnostic or an act of rebellion.

“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

Despite a vastly advanced health-care system, the rate of depression is increasingly high. Depression has

In 1978 the fırst multi-site mental health epidemiologic study in the U.S. reported that more than 50% of community respondents with depressive disorders were treated exclusively within the primary care system. As a result, primary care was labeled the “de facto mental health system” for Americans with the more prevalent but less severe mental health disorders. Subsequent re- search over the next decade found that only 25% to 50% of patients with depressive disorders were accurately diagnosed by primary care physicians. Moreover, among those accurately diagnosed only 50% received minimally adequate pharmacologic treatment, and less than 10% received a minimally adequate number of psychotherapy visits.

Depression is a disorder that is a very prevalent disorder amongst the United States population as a whole. This disorder can be

Depression is a chemical imbalance of the brain, usually when the part of the brain that produces serotonin produces the chemical in lower quantities (Rivas). Every year Americans consume more anti-depressants than any other nation in the world and from the years “1988-1994, the use of anti-depressants increased by 400%” (Ross). Statistically speaking, women have a 70% chance of developing depression over men and about 13% of the women who have children would develop postpartum depression (Holms). There is no doubt that depression impacts a large amount of people and affects the wallets of those with depression. Globally, 350,000,000 people suffer from some form of depression, of those affected with depression; $80,000,000,000 is spent on antidepressants and therapy (Holms). There are

In recent years there has been a noticeable increase in the number people who have been diagnosed with depression According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention one in ten Americans twelve and over are currently on antidepressants. This fact is especially true for females whose use was double of what men used. This increase in diagnosis and use of antidepressant many believe that depression is becoming an epidemic. Rottenberg mentions in his article the severity of depression epidemic according to the World Health Organization, “by 2030, the amount of disability and life lost as a result of depression will be greater than that resulting from any other condition, including accidents, war, suicide, cancer, and stroke”(Rottenberg). Though these statistics seem very alarming it may be a case of over medicalization. Medicalization is the when a problem that was not normally seen as a medical problem that has now seen as a medical problem. Examples of conditions that have been medicalized are ADHD, Alzheimer’s, and depression. Due to the fact that depression has been many are wondering if there is really a growing depression epidemic or is it a case of depression the being over medicalized.

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

Having unrecognized and undiagnosed depression can be detrimental to the patient suffering such mental disorders. I agree with Professor Ian Hickie’s idea that if diagnosing and treating depression improve the mental health of the patients and lower the suicide rates, it is not being overdiagnosed. In fact, depression should be more recognised and diagnosed. Lowering the threshold will not result or lead to any benefits but only increase suicide rates and prevent patients from recovering from other comorbidities. The risks followed by overtreatment and unnecessary use of antidepressants can be solved by educating general clinical physicians on treating patients with depression so that patients who are diagnosed with lesser serious and critical

A number of large-scale studies indicate that depression rates have increased worldwide over the past several decades. Furthermore, younger generations are experiencing depression at an earlier age than did previous generations. Social scientists have proposed many explanations, including changes in family structure, urbanization, and reduced cultural and religious influences.

People of all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life have felt depressed and unhappy at some time in their lives. These periods of sadness usually pass after a short time, but for some people, this feeling can remain for weeks, months, and even years. (1) This prolonged state of unhappiness is called major (or clinical) depression and is characterized by a persistent sad or "empty" mood, loss of interest in favorite activities, difficulty concentrating, and many other symptoms. It is not simply a mental state but an illness that interferes with the way people feel, function, and think.(2)

Hook: The recognition of depression as a common mental illness should lead to studies regarding what form of treatment is best for a patient, but antidepressants seem to be the unimpressive go-to.

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