Depression is the 21st century epidemic Depression and anxiety (affective disorders = prolonged emotional disturbance) are now regarded by the World Health Organization as a global epidemic. Estimates of its prevalence range widely, with up to 20 per cent of the worlds population said to be clinically depressed, and the figures are steadily increasing. Women are up to three times more likely to be diagnosed with depression than men. But this figure may simply reflect the fact that women are more likely to seek help than men. Whereas a recent study, (a collaboration between Lund University in Sweden and Stanford University), showed that the rate of suicide among men is almost three times that of women. British neurobiologist Professor Steven Rose asks “Have our minds and brains simply become out of kilter with, unable to cope with, the complexity of modernity, the pace of technological change and globalisation?” He goes on to ponder “The sheer scale of psychotropic use, the level of anguish reflected in the World Health Organisations estimates of the world-wide incidence of depression, speaks of a situation in which our minds are seriously out of joint with the environment in which they are embedded.” Dr Michael D Yapko, American clinical psychologist and world renown Hypnotherapy expert says “Antidepressants are and will likely continue to be the most common treatment modality for depression sufferers. While having a wider range of medications available that can aid with symptom reduction is a desirable goal, it is still an obvious under-treatment given the many psychological and social forces that also cause and exacerbate depression. Prescribers need to do more than simply prescribe a drug for depression: they also need to encourage patients to receive active forms of psychotherapy that can teach salient life skills known to not only reduce depression, but even to prevent its onset.” What do you think?
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 08:33:16 +0000