Mental Health - What's Being Done 
- Part 2

  Somewhere between 8 million and 14 million Americans suffer from depression each year. As many as one in five Americans will suffer at least one episode of major depression during their lifetimes.

  According to the World Health Organization, major depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States and all other developed nations. Among children, boys and girls are at equal risk for developing depression. Once a young person experiences a major depression, he or she has a greater risk of developing another depression or mental health problem within the next 5 years.

  The World Health Organization estimates that depression and substance abuse are associated with more than 90 percent of all suicide cases. According to the World Health Organization in their 1998 report, depression will be the second greatest cause of premature death and disability worldwide by the year 2020.

  The rate of synthesis of serotonin, and level of serotonin in the blood are significantly higher in men than women. Serotonin is a chemical required in the brain for mood maintenance, and these differences may help explain why depression is more common in women than in men. The success rate for treating clinical depression is nearly 80 percent. It is clear, therefore, that mental health, and specifically the identification and treatment of depression in children and adults, should be a number one priority for government and community organizations.

  The incidence of depression and other mental illness in our society is frightening, but when coupled with the stats for successful treatment, there is definite cause for being hopeful. Government intervention in this troubled area, however, will be critical to turning the success rate for treatment into a reality. Sufferers need to have access to treatment to be included in future statistics for the success or otherwise of treatment.

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