Depressive disorders affect approximately 18.8 million American adults or about 9.5% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. This includes major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar disorder.
- 41% of depressed women are too embarrassed to seek help.
- 80% of depressed people are not currently having any treatment.
- 15% of depressed people will commit suicide.
- 80% of people who see physicians are depressed.
Children and Depression
Preschoolers are the fastest growing market for antidepressants. At least 4% of preschoolers, which is over a million, are clinically depressed.
The increase of depression among children is an astounding 23%. Fifteen percent of the population of most developed countries suffers severe depression.
Disease and Depression
Depression will be the second largest killer after heart disease by 2020, and studies show depression is a contributory factor to fatal coronary disease. Other studies link depression to back pain, some forms of cancer, eye disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis.
Work and Depression
Depression results in more absenteeism and lost productivity than almost any other physical disorder, costing employers more than $51 billion per year. This does not even account for high medical and pharmaceutical bills.
Antidepressants work for 35-45% of the depressed population, while more recent figures suggest as low as 30%. Another study states that SSRIs work only as well (or less) as placebos.
A 1991 study by Johns Hopkins University found that attorneys were more likely to be depressed than any other professionals or blue collar workers. Physicians are another profession known for a high incidence of depression.
Counseling to Treat Depression
I believe that long-term recovery from depression ultimately requires addressing the underlying cause. A complete psychosocial history normally reveals a trauma of relationship in childhood or in adulthood (in my opinion depression is so much more than a chemical imbalance or depressive thoughts). My approach seeks healing for the whole person: (1) emotions, (2) thoughts, (3) physical body, (4) relationships, and (5) spiritual self. Healing the whole person is vital in preventing a relapse. According to follow-up questionnaires up to two years later, The Uplift Program, an approach very similar to my approach to depression, reports a 94% success rate. I see results very similar to this success rate in my practice.