Let us create a 3D eBook for you!
Let us create a 3d Digital eBook for you! DigyCat.com

Chronic Depression: Disease or Charcter Flaw?


A major survey on depression symptoms from the National Mental Health Association (NMHA), released in july 2001, revealed adramatic degree of progress in public understanding. Yet even amid this promising trend, the survey sheds light on thedifficulties faced by millions of people striving to manage this sometimes chronic, life-long illness.

The NMHA survey shows a major shift in public opinion in the last decade about the cause of depression. A majority (55 percent) ofthose polled who have never been diagnosed with depression symptoms understand depression is a disease, and not "a state of mindthat a person can snap out of." In 1991, only 38 percent recognized depression as an illness.

The survey also sketches a troubling portrait of the socio-economic lives of some people with depression symptoms. Survey respondentswith depression symptoms reported higher levels of unemployment and divorce than respondents who don't have the disorder.

"We set out to get a snapshot of the state of depression and its treatment," said Michael M. Faenza, president and CEO of the NMHA."The good news is that there is greater public understanding of depression and that people living with depression are finding substantialrelief by following their treatment plans. The challenging part is understanding the degree to which public perceptions impact those intreatment," said Faenza.

In this year's survey, nearly one in three Americans say they believe depression symptoms is a state of mind. "Fifty-five percent understand thetruth about depression. That is good, but it is not enough," said Faenza. "You'd never hear 31 percent of the population deny that diabetesand heart disease are real. Erroneous beliefs about depression fuel stigma, bad public policies and poor personal choices by thoseliving with the illness and may impede their recovery."

The survey also describes a strong correlation between clinical depression symptoms and diminished social and economic circumstancesfor families. Survey respondents with depression report greater rates of divorce and unemployment than the general public. What's more,respondents who have experienced multiple depressive episodes are even more likely to be divorced or unemployed. They also aremore likely to have lower income and educational levels.The NMHA survey, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies LLC, comprised interviews with 500 adults currently being treated fordepression, 300 primary care physicians, psychiatrists and psychologists and 800 members of the general public.

Gap Between Knowledge and Behavior

Survey respondents who are living with depression symptoms overwhelmingly feel that treatment, including medication, psychotherapy orboth, works. (Their average self-rated symptom severity dropped from 8.5 before treatment to 3.6 within six to 12 months after startingtreatment, using a severity scale of one to 10, with 10 being the most severe.)

Yet people are finding that staying with treatment is hard work. While they seem to understand the value of long-term treatment (in fact,most respondents believe that adhering to treatment is not difficult) nearly one-third (29 percent) of people on antidepressants reportskipping doses during the week and nearly one-fourth (24 percent) have difficulty attending regular psychotherapy sessions. However,physicians and psychiatrists surveyed believe adherence is much lower than people in treatment profess. Almost 40 percent of doctorsbelieve those they treat have difficulty staying with their medication regimens (a number consistent with most studies), and half (52 percent)say those they treat have difficulty staying with their psychotherapy regimens.

The survey suggests many reasons why some people don't stick with treatment. In addition to struggling with the nature and demandsof the depression symptoms, they may find the requirements of long-term vigilance overwhelming. A majority of doctors (70 percent) saythose they treat for depression symptoms might find adherence easier if they could take medication less often. But medication is not theonly issue. Though people with depression symptoms believe diet and exercise to be beneficial to long-term wellness, they neverthelessreport not adhering with these regimens either.

"The survey clearly shows that the fewer episodes of depression people reported, the more likely they were to have stayed withtreatment, whatever that treatment may be," said Faenza. "Facing up to this illness and taking personal responsibility for its treatmentare vital. Yet some may not acknowledge and seek treatment for depression because of negative public attitudes and misperceptions."

In fact, even as people with depression symptoms struggle with the illness itself, they also seem to be searching to determine theirbest course of treatment, how long they should stay in treatment, what they might expect from treatment and whether they will ultimatelyrecover. As a result, more people are employing a combination of techniques to get and stay well.

Perceptions Diverge

Public perceptions about depression symptoms often diverge significantly from the perceptions of people in treatment and maydiscourage them from seeking effective therapeutic approaches. For example, the survey results showed that the general publicranks regular exercise, a healthy diet and psychotherapy higher than medication for effectiveness in warding off future episodes ofdepression symptoms. In contrast, doctors and people in long-term treatment rate staying on medication as the most effective way toprevent a relapse, even as they seek the right mix of psychotherapy and lifestyle choices.

Perceptions also diverge when it comes to understanding what treatment can deliver. Thirty-five percent of the general public believethat a person can be cured completely of depression symptoms, a belief held by only 12 percent of people in long-term treatment forthe illness. It is likely that many in this group are struggling to achieve realistic expectations for treatment because the majority of subjectsin the survey sample are in long-term treatment for multiple episodes of depression symptoms.

About half of those who experience depression symptoms will never have another episode; half will. The findings suggest that peopletreated for clinical depression symptoms understand the frequently episodic nature of this common illness. More than three-quarters(76 percent) believe that they will need some type of treatment for the rest of their lives, and most understand that their treatment willcontrol, but not necessarily cure, their depression symptoms.However, even as more people come to terms with the long-term demands of depression symptoms, too many still find it difficult to make atreatment plan work for them. "The upshot is that people living with depression conduct highly individualized searches for the right mixof therapies-medical, psychological or lifestyle. The last thing they need is for stigma or public misperceptions to diminish their efforts,"said Faenza.

Source : National Mental Health Association, July 11, 2001

Charles Donovan is a study patient in the investigational trial for vagus nerve stimulation and chronic depression. He testified at the FDA Panel Meeting on June 15th and is the author of the upcoming book: Out of the Black Hole: The Patient's Guide to Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Depression.


MORE RESOURCES:

Depression - Google News

Zac Efron loses kid brother, slips into serious depression, and still retains... - Philly2Philly.com


Los Angeles Times

Zac Efron loses kid brother, slips into serious depression, and still retains...
Philly2Philly.com
Zac Efron loses kid brother, slips into serious depression, and still retains flawless skin in 'Charlie St. Cloud' By Jim Teti at 2:51 am on Friday July 30, ...
Zac Efron gives a shout out to TWLOHA supportersHollywoodnews.com
Nonprofit screens Zac Efron movie tonightFlorida Today

all 880 news articles »

Visiting Obama deserves credit for saving GM, Chrysler - Detroit Free Press


Visiting Obama deserves credit for saving GM, Chrysler
Detroit Free Press
... Obama will tout the federal rescues of General Motors and Chrysler as bold moves that staved off another Great Depression and saved thousands of jobs. ...

and more »

Perry wants federal disaster aid for 21 counties - Houston Chronicle


News 8 Austin

Perry wants federal disaster aid for 21 counties
Houston Chronicle
... seeking a presidential disaster proclamation for 21 Texas counties hard-hit by flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Alex and Tropical Depression 2. ...
Perry requests disaster declaration from ObamaKCBD-TV
Gov. Perry Disaster DeclarationKGNS

all 47 news articles »

Gingrich: Obama Repeating Mistakes From the Great Depression - NewsMax.com


Gingrich: Obama Repeating Mistakes From the Great Depression
NewsMax.com
"This was exactly the mistake made in 1937 and 1938, and it created a second mini-Depression. I think it's very dangerous, and I think the simple battle cry ...

and more »

A Portrait of Depression - New York Times


New York Times

A Portrait of Depression
New York Times
Opening with a sobering quotation from Andrew Solomon's 1998 confession of suicidal depression in The New Yorker, “Helen” dives into ...

Key data will shed important light on path of recovery - MarketWatch


Key data will shed important light on path of recovery
MarketWatch
At the moment, the current recession is the deepest since the Great Depression. It started in the third quarter of 2008 when Lehman Brothers collapsed and ...

and more »

So Did We Really Avert The Second Great Depression? - The Business Insider


So Did We Really Avert The Second Great Depression?
The Business Insider
The old adage about it being a recession if your neighbor is out of work and a depression if you are out of work is, I think, particularly apt these days. ...
Economist say we narrowly avoided another Great DepressionCreative Loafing (blog)

all 2 news articles »

Federal Recovery Efforts Saved 8.5 Million Jobs, Stopped Depression - Progressive States Network (blog)


TopNews Singapore (press release)

Federal Recovery Efforts Saved 8.5 Million Jobs, Stopped Depression
Progressive States Network (blog)
... loosening of the money supply, and federal stimulus funds for states and individuals, helped stop a far worse potential full-out Depression that would ...
Study argues stimulus, other action averted second Great Depression; others ...Washington Post (blog)
Blinder, Zandi Say US Bailouts Likely Averted a DepressionBloomberg
Federal efforts avoided a depression, economists concludeKansas City Star
Seattle Times -Firedoglake (blog) -New York Times
all 82 news articles »

The New New Deal: Public Money for Private Jobs - New York Times (blog)


New York Times

The New New Deal: Public Money for Private Jobs
New York Times (blog)
During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration paid jobless Americans to build public bridges and paint public murals; in the wake of the ...
Job Subsidies Also Provide Help to Private SectorNew York Times
Does Direct Government Stimulus Create Private Sector Jobs?The Atlantic

all 16 news articles »

BP oil spill update: Bonnie now Tropical Depression: Still holding up oil ... - Examiner.com

DietRight Domain Is For Sale - $10,000 For Enquiries eMail Us

© www.DietRight.biz 2010

home | site map | links

 

eXTReMe Tracker