There are all kinds of interesting illnesses and conditions plaguing humankind, and they exist in many different forms and categories. When you think of a disease that devastates us, and for which humans have really longed for a cure, the word cancer comes to mind. We have made enormous advances in the treatment of heart disease, particularly in the last several decades, and several long-term studies in the progression of health and disease have revealed the effect of personality and psychological functioning on one's health status. Most scientists no longer consider physical illnesses to be separate and discrete from mental illness. There is a category of mental illnesses, however, that can be said to be equally devastating as cancer, from its prevalence in the population, the degree to which it disables and toll it takes on a sufferer (and society), and the increase in rates of incidence. Here are some facts showing you how massive the problem is, and how many people are suffering out there with this malady who are not being diagnosed or successfully treated.
World Health Organization says that major depression is the number one or two leading cause of medical disability on this planet.
Millions of people - best estimates 15 to 18% of people - will have a major depressive episode at some point.
About 80% of people have multiple episodes of depression. Also, 80% of cases are never diagnosed, and of those that are approximately 1/3 never respond to any medication, approximately 1/3 do, but the side effects are intolerable, and about a third are helped.
With each passing decade, the incidence of depression has been increasing.
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