By: Jessica Mendoza – Beehive Producer, PIC Current Contributor
You’ve probably seen that commercial telling you that depression hurts. But have you seen the new CDC report telling us just how many people it hurts?
National Archives, Public Domain
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that 1 in 20 Americans ages 12 years and older are depressed. Rates are higher in 40-59 year olds, women, and non-Hispanic blacks than in other demographics. The study also found that 1 in 7 Americans living below the poverty level were depressed – more than those with higher incomes.
Wow. One in 7? Are you as surprised as I am?
But the more important question is, is there anything you can do about it? Well, yes and no. Depression isn’t something “you can simply ‘snap out of,’” according to MayoClinic.com. It’s a health condition that affects you physically and emotionally. Symptoms include:
- Feeling sad
- A loss of interest in daily activities
- Feeling hopeless and worthless
- Difficulty concentrating
- Back pain or headaches
- Thoughts of suicide
And causes of depression are unknown. There’s evidence depression is caused by several things, including:
- Biochemical factors (like imbalances with your hormones)
- Your genes (it may run in your family)
- Events in your life (the loss of a loved one, for example)
Although you can’t change how you became depressed or how it makes you feel, there ARE steps you can take to fight it.
- Learn more about depression from the National Institute of Mental Health and from the Mayo Clinic. The more you learn about it, the better you can deal with it.
- Visit your doctor. Not only can your doctor help you identify the causes of your depression, but your doctor can also help you treat it. You can also search for mental health care near you.
- There are even steps you can take to prevent depression, like reducing stress and building your support network.
For even more information about depression, visit our sister site, the Beehive.
[...] are growing, we can expect even more people to suffer from such disorders. As we mentioned in a previous post, low-income Americans suffer more than most from issues such as [...]
Hi, I hope you can help. I have been looking for depression support groups I could go to on the east side. Days or evenings. And a list of A.A meetings for day or night. closest to phalen park area? Sometimes, I just need somewhere to go to talk to someone in the same shoes as I am. (people who like me self-recovering alcoholic for a year. However, feeling very very depressed. Please help me to in the right direction, before I do something stupid). Thank You! Terri
The style of writing is quite familiar . Did you write guest posts for other blogs?
I am disabled, unemployed, on OHP, food stamps, the whole bit. I need to move out of my present apt. but the mgr. just sent me a letter saying awful things about me. These things are not true, but are now added to my rental record. I have had this happen before, lies told about me. But this time she says I hit a child with my cane! How can I get help cleaning up the lies on my rental report in order to be able to move and have the new mgrs. believe I am the good, honest and responsible adult I really am? The mgr also lied to get me to move in here, I’m a guaranteed rent payer due to Housing Assistance. She won’t let me break my lease. But even if I do, there is NO guarantee anyone will rent to me with the bad stuff on my report. I need to explain to someone the truth. I suffer from depression, and constant pain. There is so much going on in my life right now that I can’t do anything about that I just feel like sitting in a corner and do absolutely nothing. I’m giving up. Are there any resources that can help me? I have a counselor already. Not much help. Thanks.
Depression is difficult to overcome because it often leaves us feeling isolated and helpless. But you’re not alone and there is help available. If you’re willing to seek this help, there are help lines, doctors, online resources, family and safety networks and more.
Along with the resources in the article above, you can also try some of the following sites:
SAVE – http://www.save.org/
HelpGuide.org – http://helpguide.org/mental/depression_tips.htm
HopeLine – http://www.hopeline.com/
The Beehive – http://thebeehive.org/health/help-mental-health/depression/understanding-depression