7 facts about depression

According to the World Health Organization, depression is a very common mental disorder. It is estimated that more than 264 million people of all age groups suffer from it worldwide.

1. Women suffer from depression more than men.

Both sexes are affected by depression, but women between the ages of 18 and 35-40 experience it about twice as often as men. Both biochemistry (after all, some of the mechanisms for the development of depression involve female hormones – estrogens) and the large number of social roles and responsibilities associated with these roles have an influence.

However, this “gender inequality” is partly explained by the fact that men turn to psychologists less often and, as a result, cases of depression that have befallen them simply do not fall into the statistics.

In developing countries, one in ten new mothers suffer from postpartum depression, and about half of them do not receive the necessary medical care at all. In developed countries, the danger is different: excessive use of antidepressants by women without a doctor’s prescription, leading to addiction.

2. Genetics play a role in the development of depression

If one of your parents, brother or sister has experienced depression, the likelihood that you will encounter this problem is 2-3 times higher than those people whose close relatives have never been affected by this disease. No “depression gene”, however, exists – the predisposition is caused by a whole complex of various factors.

The risk of developing a disorder is often due to a low content of the “hormone of joy” in the blood – serotonin (the action of many antidepressants is based on the stabilization of the level of serotonin in the blood). The more pronounced depression is, the higher the likelihood that its occurrence has a certain genetic basis.

Among other reasons that cause a predisposition to a depressive disorder already in childhood, one can also mention non-genetic ones – for example, the humiliation that the child was subjected to in childhood, the early loss of parents.

3. Depression can’t always be cured with medication.

There is even a special term, “treatment resistant depression,” which refers to a form of depression in which medication does not help. By the way, this is where genetics seems to play an important role: how the brain and body are able to cope with the processes leading to the development of depression leaves its mark on the body’s perception of drugs.

Interestingly, the more severe the depression, the more effective the drugs against it. “Cannon salvo” helps against difficult cases.

4. Therapeutic conversation is more effective than drugs.

When it comes to moderate forms of depression, regular visits to a psychotherapist are useful. In any case, a therapeutic conversation in combination with prescribed medications is more effective than medication alone. And psychotherapy is absolutely indispensable for people for whom medications are contraindicated, for example, pregnant or lactating women.

5. Depression can cause hallucinations

Fantastic images that a person can see in reality are usually associated with more serious ailments – such as dementia or Parkinson’s disease. However, depression can also change reality for those affected. Moreover, this symptom is widespread: about 20% of people suffering from depression have experienced hallucinations at least once.

And a study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that about half of those teenagers who hear mysterious voices in their heads suffer from various non-psychotic disorders – in particular, depression.

6. Creative people are often prone to depression.

Biographers of many great people would agree with this fact: famous musicians (Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig Beethoven), painters (Vincent van Gogh, Edvard Munch), writers (Edgar Poe, Jack London), religious figures (Martin Luther) suffered from severe depression. ) and even politics (Winston Churchill).

In recent decades, the first serious attempts to confirm this fact with statistics have been made: for example, in a study conducted in 1994, in-depth interviews were organized with 59 book authors who took part in the Conference of Women Writers, which is held annually at the University of Kentucky (USA). It turned out that most of the study participants are prone to various depressions, manias, panic attacks.

There are various explanations for this phenomenon – including the hypothesis that a special brain structure allows people prone to depression to see and feel what everyone else does not see (as a result of which they come to art).

7. The rise in depressive disorders will hit the economy

According to the WHO forecast, by 2030 depression will become the second leading cause of disability (HIV will hold the palm). Depressions will hit innovative economies the hardest: a prolonged illness affects memory and concentration, which is much more important for a programmer or engineer than, say, for a cotton picker.

And this despite the fact that health care systems, even in developed countries, are not effective enough to treat this disease: treatment for depression is either not included in medical insurance at all, or it provides only basic methods of drug treatment, while more modern ones require additional payment.

Kelleher et al. «Clinicopathological significance of psychotic symptoms in non-psychotic young people: evidence from four population-based studies». British Journal of Psychiatry, April 2012.

R. DeRubeis et al. «Cognitive therapy versus medication for depression: treatment outcomes and neural mechanisms». Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 9.

A. Ludwig «Mental illness and creative activity in female writers». American Journal of Psychiatry, 1994.

N. Andreasen «The relationship between creativity and mood disorders». Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, June 2008.