World Health Day is observed every year on April 7 to mark the founding of the World Health Organisation(WHO) and a theme is chosen, which is the prominent health concern at that time. Depression is the theme for 2017, highlighting the imperative need to prevent, recognise, diagnose and treat this illness.
Depression can affect anyone, in any culture and at any age and is a matter of global concern. It is very common-- lifetime prevalence is estimated to be 10-20 per cent, yet often not diagnosed and frequently not treated, leading to devastating consequences for the person, his family and the society in general.
What is Depression? It is the most common human experience and there is hardly anyone, who has not become depressed, at some point in their life. Usually this depression lasts only for a few hours or at the most a few days and the individual recovers. But when this depression lasts for two weeks or more, it is a matter of serious concern as this is usually the manifestation of a Depressive Disorder.
Most prominent symptoms are: feeling depressed most of the time (depressed mood) and inability to enjoy (anhedonia). Such people have loss of energy, poor concentration and disinterest in everything. They feel drained of all energy and may have no zest for living.
Negative feelings like hopelessness, helplessness and worthlessness will haunt them. They will have a pessimistic view of everything and have guilt feelings about the minor transgressions in life. They feel life is not worth living. If left untreated, they may contemplate suicide and some may actually end their life. In fact, the leading cause of suicide is depression.
What causes depression? There may not be a single factor, but the most satisfactory explanation is a bio-psycho-social model in which an interplay of the biological, psychological and social causes leads to depression. It is probably true to say, nobody is born to be depressed!
Can depression be treated? Depression is an illness which is almost always treatable and curable. But unfortunately, several barriers exist, the most prominent being the social stigma. Because of the prevailing stigma in our society, large number of people with depression and other mental disorders seek no treatment, suffering in silence and even giving up their lives.
This should never happen! There is a huge treatment gap, resulting in 80-90 per cent of the people in the developing countries, getting no treatment. Our MBBS curriculum should have psychiatry as an important subject,thus enabling our young doctors to diagnose and treat depression.
According to the WHO, mental disorders (depression being the most prominent among them) cause the highest Global Burden of Disease at 13 per cent. We need higher investment and prioritisation of mental health. Let our governments and policy planners awaken and let this be our resolve in the year ahead!.