Yet, although it is a treatable medical illness, the tragedy is that over two-thirds of the people who suffer from depression do nor seek treatment. Fighting the stigma attached to the illness will go a long way to help people seek the help and treatment they need. More than 80 percent of people with clinical depression can be successfully treated, but only one-third actually seek treatment. Treatment options include medication, psychotherapy, or a combination of both. Too many of the over 43 million Americans who suffer from a mental illness continue to suffer because of the widespread lack of understanding that brain disorders are as responsive to treatment as other medical disorders.
Clinical depression is more than twice as common in women than in men.
This gender difference first shows up in adolescence, according to research presented by Laura Miller, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry, University of Illinois-Chicago. It also correlates with differences in girls' and boys' attitudes toward their newly emergent secondary sex characteristics. Girls, especially those who become depressed, tend to disparage and criticize their new bodies, while boys tend to be proud of the changes. Sexual dysfunction can be a symptom of depression. He noted that a high percentage of men taking some of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants experience disruptive sexual side effects, including impotence.