Depression

Mental Health Steam Group

What are the symptoms of Depression?

Depression Characteristics (symptoms) include:
- Unreliable sleeping cycle
- Inability to concentrate
- Easy tasks being very hard to do
- A feeling of sadness and helplessness
- Inability to control thoughts - negative or positive
- Loss of appetite or inability to stop eating
- Increase in aggression and short temperament
- Recklessness and tendency to develop drinking problems
- Questioning lifes importance and contemplating suicide
- Fatigue on the body and mind
- Isolation from others
- Lack of consideration towards ones appearance

Misconceptions of Depression
1) Some people think that depression is a sign of weakness, but it is a very
complex disorder that should not be left alone.
2) There are many different ways to cure depression such as therapy and
antidepressants.
3) Depression shouldnt be considered regular sadness, as it is more serious
than a typical decrease in mood.
4) Depression does not just go away with pills or overnight; One has to
work on themselves and find happiness within themselves for depression
to eventually fade away.
5) While many people believe that people are responsible for creating their
own depression, they should not be held liable for something that they
cannot control

Misconceptions of Depression (Cont.)

6) People think that to cure depression is to think positive
thoughts; however, it is a long process to overcome.
7) Depression is not usually caused by one depressing event like
the death or a breakup. It can be caused by something like that
but most of the time it is caused by a number of things and other
times it just comes along.
8) Even if a depressed person seems happy, it could be a mask to
hide how they truly feel simply because they do not want anyone
to worry about them or treat them any differently.

Treatments available for depression

1) Richard Shadick suggests doing lots of exercise, meditation, and
yoga to help depression.
2) R. Morgan Griffin suggests that you should get in a routine, set
goals, exercise, eat healthy, get enough sleep, take on
responsibilities, and challenge negative thoughts.
3) Several doctors suggest taking drug such as prozac, elavil,
cymbalta, lexapro, xanax, and so much more.
4) R. Morgan Griffin suggest therapy.
5) NAMI is a great program depressed people can go to and it will
help them.

Have other countries done better in providing treatment

options?

In UK, NHS (National health service) gives out free (for the
most part) health care to all. In the UK and Sweden and
Switzerland and Australia, which all rate highly in terms of
healthcare, they use a national health care system, whereas
Americas private health care system is lacking.

Have other countries done better in providing treatment

options? (Cont.)
In Germany, The cost of prescribed medication is usually mostly paid
through the public health scheme (about 85% of the population) or private
insurance. Patients have to pay 10% of the price of prescribed drugs,
though there can be exceptions for patients on long-term treatments.
o With psychotherapy, the public health scheme pays for up to five "test
sessions" for each therapist. If the patient considers these a success,
the therapist can recommend short treatments (usually 31 sessions) or
long treatments (usually 45 sessions), but needs to get permission
from the public or private health insurance company before putting a
patient through one of these courses.
The entire cost should be met by the public or private insurance
scheme.

What happens in the brain of a

depressed person?
- Depression is caused by a chemical imbalance
in the brain. The chemical imbalance can
be caused by several things such as the brain
not producing enough serotonin or brain
receptor sites not receiving the serotonin.

- This MRI of the brain represents someone

with depression and someone without depression.
The parts of the brain that appear different
are in: mood, thinking, sleep, appetite, and
behavior. The MRI does not tell us why this person has depression though.

Statistics of Depression
From the picture, one can see
that the highest population of
depressed people roams
around the south.
Although not as concentrated
as this area, California is
marked with the 2nd darkest
color, meaning and large
amount of people, 9.2 - 10.3%
of the population.

Gender Statistics

According to studies, the

male to female ratio of
depressed people is 1:2

Depression amongst the male

population is at about 5.2%
Depression amongst the
female population is at about
8.5%

Statistics by Age

For the age group, 1825, 8.9% of the group

has depression
For the age group 2649, 7.6% of the group
has depression

For the age group 50

and older, 5.5% of the
group has depression.

Medical Statistics

For an average person

seeking medical help for
their depression, their
health care costs
$22,960

For an average person

that has been diagnosed
with depression and not
seeking medical help,
their health care costs
$14,365
For an average person
without depression,
health care costs
$11,365

Medical Statistics
For all of those who are
diagnosed with depression, on
20% seek medical help.
A staggering 80% of people either
refuse, cannot afford, do not think
they need medical help.

Pie Chart of Those

with Depression
Seeking Medical Help

Textual Statistics

Cancer: 25% of cancer patients experience

abuse disorders (both alcohol and other substances)

Strokes: 10-27% of post-stroke patients

experience depression.

Diabetes: 8.5-27% of persons with diabetes

experience depression.

Heart attacks: 1 in 3 heart attack survivors

experience depression.

Substance use: 27% of individuals with substance

depression.

experience depression.

Eating disorders: 50-75% of eating disorder

HIV: 1 in 3 HIV patients may experience

patients (anorexia and bulimia) experience

depression.

depression.

Parkinson's Disease: 50% of Parkinson's disease

patients may experience depression.

Specifically, appealing to our specific age group, as

many as one in 33 children and one in eight

adolescents have clinical depression

Our Solution?
Although very costly, Americans could benefit from free depression
clinics that could diagnose and prescribe medication for people that
cannot afford a psychiatric appointment.
Making medication more accessible and affordable to people
without healthcare and/or low income.
Public Speaking to schools and universities about depression as
adolescents-young adults is the group most likely to develop
depression.
Creating health education classes for high schools and universities
nationwide to have a more one-on-one approach and so students
can really get a grasp on everything that is about a healthy mind
Companies need to be more flexible with the needs of those with a
mental illness such as depression.

Thank You! :)
Mental Health STEAM Group

Works Cited

"Brain Chemistry (Neurochemistry)." Http://www.humanillnesses.com. Advameg, Inc., 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 6 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.humanillnesses.com/Behavioral-Health-A-Br/Brain-Chemistry-Neurochemistry.html>.

"United Kingdom." - The Commonwealth Fund. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Jan. 2015.

"How to Compare Health-care Systems." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 29 June 2014. Web. 06 Jan. 2015.

"An Estimated 1 in 10 U.S. Adults Report Depression." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 31 Mar. 2011. Web. 06 Jan. 2015. <http://www.cdc.gov/features/dsdepression/>.

"Depression Statistics." Db Alliance. Web. 03 Jan. 2015.

<http://www.dbsalliance.org/site/PageServer?pagename=education_statistics_depression>.

"Major Depression among Adults." National Institute of Mental Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/major-depression-among-adults.shtml>.

Works Cited Cont.

"Depression." NIMH . Depression. NIH. Web. 6 Jan.

2015.<http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml>.

"9 Depression Myths." 9 Depression Myths. Web. 06 Jan. 2015. <http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/9-mythsdepression#promoSlide>.

Depression Symptoms and Warning Signs." Depression Symptoms & Warning Signs: How to Recognize Depression
Symptoms and Get Effective Help. Web. 04 Jan. 2015. <http://www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/depression-signs-andsymptoms.htm>.

"Unhappiness by the Numbers: 2012 Depression Statistics." Depression Statistics: Unhappiness by the Numbers
[INFOGRAPHIC]. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2015. <http://www.healthline.com/health/depression/statistics-infographic>.

"Major Depression and Genetics." GenRED. Web. 06

n. 2015. <http://depressiongenetics.stanford.edu/mddandgenes.html>.