Depression? Are you struggling with depression? Are you getting treatment for it? If not, you’re not alone. About two-thirds of people with major depression never seek appropriate treatment, and the consequences can be devastating: personal suffering, missed work, broken marriages, health problems and, in the worst cases, death.
The World Health Organization ranks depression as one of the world’s most disabling diseases. Yet with treatment, 70% of people with clinical depression can improve, often in a matter of weeks.
So what keeps us from seeking help? “It’s hard to find out why they are not coming [for treatment], because if they are not coming, they can’t tell us,” says Christel Maritz Psychologist. “But when they do finally get to our offices, they can certainly speak about the things that might have kept them from coming initially.”
Waiting for depression to simply pass can be harmful for a number of reasons. For one, depression that goes untreated may become more severe. The longer the delay in treatment, the more difficult it may be to control, and the more likely it is to recur when treatment is stopped. There also is growing evidence that untreated depression can contribute to or worsen other medical problems. “Heart disease is the one that has been most linked to depression, but research also suggests a link between depression and metabolic issues such as obesity, diabetes, and diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer.
Contact me today and together we can work on ways to find your path to being mentally healthy again.
http://www.webmd.com/depression/features/depression-why-arent-you-getting-treatment
