October 8 has been set aside to mark National Depression Screening Day in the United States. We need more than a day, but it’s a start. Why do we need a day like that? Because there are people who are depressed but don’t know they can get help. There are people who are fighting a losing battle against depression because they’re not getting the help they know they need. There are people who deny the existence of a true medical problem called depression, making it difficult – if not impossible – for their loved ones to get help.
Clinical depression is …read more

Thirty-seven percent of people undergoing foreclosures of their homes meet the criteria of diagnosis for major depression, suggest study findings published in the most recent issue of American Journal of Public Health. That percentage is considerably higher than the National Alliance of Mental Illness report of about 5 to 8% of the general adult population has major depression.
The researchers, from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, found many interesting points. The press release says:

compared to a sample of residents in the general public, those in foreclosure were more likely to be uninsured (22% compared to 8%), though similar health …read more

Alcohol abuse may trigger depression, according to a new study by researchers in New Zealand.
While it’s thought that individuals with depression may “medicate” themselves with alcohol, the new study, in the March Archives of General Psychiatry, shows that the opposite may also be true. Alcohol abuse can trigger depression.
The alcohol study consisted of 1,055 participants, born in 1977. They were assessed for both alcohol abuse and depression at ages 17 to 18, 20 to 21 and 24 to 25 years. The participants were also asked questions about lifestyle and demographic factors.
David M. Fergusson, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of …read more