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
- Wellcast: “Am I Blue or Am I Really Depressed?”
- Wellcast: “Depression and Mindfulness”
- Article: “Depression”
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.