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Nearly 18 million
Americans develop some form of depression
each year. But the stigma surrounding mental illness prevents many
from being diagnosed and treated for the disease. The University
of Michigan Depression
Center, in a comprehensive community awareness campaign, hopes
to improve depression recognition throughout Michigan.
On Thursday,
Oct. 11, the U-M Depression Center will join the U-M Psychiatry
Department and the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FASAP)
in sponsoring the local observance of National Depression Screening
Day. As a part of this event, the Center will offer free, confidential
depression screenings to all interested faculty, staff, and students
of the university, as well as to the greater Ann Arbor community.
All of the day's events will take place at Riverview Outpatient
Facility, located on 900 Wall Street, from 8 to 10 a.m. and from
4 to 6 p.m.
Screening participants
will hear an educational presentation from a physician, be able
to ask the physician questions, complete a written screening test,
and talk privately with a mental health professional. Those who
appear to need greater assistance will be given a list of local
referrals. In addition, participants will learn more about the Depression
Center and its efforts to improve depression care. For more information,
call Sarah Newlin, (734) 763-7495.
Individuals
with depression often feel alone, not realizing that depression
is a widespread disease that affects many people. Most people also
do not understand whom the disease affects, why, or when. For example,
many Americans do not know that:
- Twice as
many women as men suffer from depression;
- Studies
have shown that heart attack survivors with major depression have
a three to four times greater risk of dying within six months
than those free from depression;
- Teen suicide
rates have increased more than 300% in the last 50 years;
- There are
several types of depression that differ in severity and symptoms;
and
- The World
Health Organization estimates that major depression will be the
second most burdensome illness in the world by the year 2020.
Common symptoms of depression include feelings of sadness, loss
of pleasure in usual activities, feelings of hopelessness, helplessness
and worthlessness, changes in sleep patterns and appetite, loss
of energy, restlessness, and thoughts of death or suicide. Unfortunately,
fewer than half of those suffering from depressive disorders actually
receive the treatment that they need. This is directly related to
the stigma associated with mental disorders, because depression,
when accurately diagnosed, is actually a very treatable illness.
Written by
Kara Gavin
For more
information, contact Kara Gavin or Mary Beth Reilly, UMHS Public
Relations, 734-764-2220, or by e-mail.
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