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Take stock for National Depression Screening Day

National Depression Screening Day is Oct. 8. Held during Mental Illness Awareness Week each October, it serves as a reminder that clinical depression is a common medical illness affecting more than 20 million American adults each year. Like screenings for other illnesses, depression screenings should be a routine part of health care.

Facts about depression

  • Clinical depression is a serious medical illness.
  • Clinical depression can lead to suicide.
  • Sometimes people with depression mistakenly believe that the symptoms of depression are a “normal part of life.”
  • Clinical depression affects men and women of all ages, races and socioeconomic groups.
  • One in four women and one in 10 men will experience depression at some point during their lifetimes.
  • Two-thirds of those suffering from the illness do not seek the necessary treatment.
  • Depression can co-occur and complicate other medical conditions.
  • More than 80 percent of all cases of clinical depression can be effectively treated with medication, psychotherapy or a combination of both.

Work/Life Connections-EAP offers an anonymous Depression Self-Assessment and many other resources identifying, understanding and addressing depression.

Resources from Work/Life Connections-EAP

For additional information about resources on managing depression, Vanderbilt employees and their spouses or same-sex domestic partners can call (615) 936-1327 to set up a confidential assessment with one of our licensed clinicians.