Courtesy of Mental Health America, today is National Depression Screening Day.
Why?
According to MHA:
-Clinical depression is a serious medical illness.
-Clinical depression can lead to suicide.
-Sometimes people with depression mistakenly believe that the symptoms of depression are a "normal part of life."
-Clinical depression affects men and women of all ages, races and socioeconomic groups.
-One in four women and one in 10 men will experience depression at some point during their lifetimes.
-Two-thirds of those suffering from the illness do not seek the necessary treatment.
-Depression can co-occur and complicate other medical conditions.
-More than 80 percent of all cases of clinical depression can be effectively treated with medication, psychotherapy or a combination of both.
-Screenings are often the first step in getting help.
More is at their web site.
The one stat I wonder about: Do we really think that few men experience depression at some point in their lives, in comparison to women? Or is this again a stat driven by self-selection (and therefore subject to societal pressures that men and women experience differently.)
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