“Depression destroys families. It ruins careers. It ages patients prematurely,”
“Depression is debilitating, progressive and relentless in its downhill course, as tough and worthy an opponent as any a doctor might choose to combat.”
Increasingly, though, it’s not just doctors who are battling this scourge. Once an ordeal suffered in private and often in shame, depression is now a major public health issue. Some would argue it’s the major public health issue of this century.
Not long ago, society viewed depression as a moral weakness, not a physical disease, and people kept it a secret. Insurers paid little or nothing for treatment. Combined, these two factors—stigma and cost—kept people out of care.
“Over half the costs in mental health today are due to depression,” What’s more, depressed people are more likely to do damage to themselves or others and more likely to suffer from chronic diseases, and the fact that they have depression intensifies chronic ailments.
“More than any other health condition,” says School of Public Health Assistant Professor Daniel Eisenberg, whose research focuses on mental health interventions for the young, “depression represents a person’s overall well-being. In that sense, treating depression gets directly at public health’s most important outcome.”
“Depression is debilitating, progressive and relentless in its downhill course, as tough and worthy an opponent as any a doctor might choose to combat.”
Increasingly, though, it’s not just doctors who are battling this scourge. Once an ordeal suffered in private and often in shame, depression is now a major public health issue. Some would argue it’s the major public health issue of this century.
Not long ago, society viewed depression as a moral weakness, not a physical disease, and people kept it a secret. Insurers paid little or nothing for treatment. Combined, these two factors—stigma and cost—kept people out of care.
“Over half the costs in mental health today are due to depression,” What’s more, depressed people are more likely to do damage to themselves or others and more likely to suffer from chronic diseases, and the fact that they have depression intensifies chronic ailments.
“More than any other health condition,” says School of Public Health Assistant Professor Daniel Eisenberg, whose research focuses on mental health interventions for the young, “depression represents a person’s overall well-being. In that sense, treating depression gets directly at public health’s most important outcome.”
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