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Depression and Anxiety Disorders

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February 26, 2017

What is the issue?

According to new estimates by the WHO, depression is the largest disability worldwide.

What is a Depressive disorder?

  • Depressive disorders is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of low mood that is present across most situations.
  • It is often accompanied by low self-esteem, disturbed sleep, loss of interest, poor concentration, and pain without a clear cause.
  • Such disorders include two main sub-categories: major depressive disorders, which involve symptoms such as depressed mood; and
  • Dysthymia, a persistent or chronic form of mild depression but it tend to be less intense and last longer.

What is an Anxiety disorder?

  • Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorders characterized by feelings of anxiety and fear.
  • Anxiety is a worry about future events and fear is a reaction to current events.
  • The cause of anxiety disorders is a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
  • Generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, all comes under Anxiety disorders.

What are the facts?

  • The number of people living with depression has increased by approximately 18% between 2005 and 2015.
  • Over 80% of the disease burden is in developing countries.
  • 1 in 20 people in the world have depression and it has a high level of impairment or disability associated with it.
  • In India, nearly 5% of population is dealing with depression and a further 3% is dealing with stress related disorders.
  • In terms of lost health, the consequences are colossal.
  • At its most severe state, depression can lead to suicide. Depression is the major contributor to suicidal deaths.
  • Suicide accounted for almost 1.5% of all deaths worldwide in 2015.

What is the major worry?

  • Even though, there are known and effective treatments for depression, fewer than half of those affected in the world receive such treatments (in many countries, fewer than 10%).
  • Barriers to effective care include lack of resources, dearth of trained health-care providers, and social stigma associated with mental disorders.
  • Ex: India has less than 4,000 psychiatrists to treat its mentally ill people.
  • The WHO report also said that inaccurate assessment was another barrier to effective mental health care.
  • People who are depressed are often not correctly diagnosed, and others who do not have the disorder are too often misdiagnosed and prescribed anti-depressants.

 

Source: The Hindu, TOI

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