WHO calls for speaking about depression, fighting stigma

ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday asked individuals and communities to speak out about depression and to fight the stigma surrounding it.

According to WHO, the theme for this year's World Health Day is "Depression: let's talk," as talking about depression helps break down stigma and encourages more people to seek help.

The Organization said that currently, over 300 million people around the world are living with depression, which reflects a more than 18% increase between 2005 and 2015. It added depression is an illness in which people feel overwhelming sadness, lose interest in activities they enjoy, and find it difficult to carry out daily tasks, and can affect anyone, anywhere, especially populations experiencing humanitarian crises.

In the Eastern Mediterranean region, as many as one in five people are affected by depression and anxiety in countries affected by conflict, insecurity, and displacement.

Dr. Fikri, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, says, "Despite common misperceptions, depression is not a sign of weakness but stigma and discrimination are preventing people from seeking the care they need.

Effective treatment is available through talking therapies and antidepressant medications, or a combination of both. Dr Fikri underscored that depression is treatable.

In many countries, there is little or no support available for people with mental health disorders. Even in high-income countries, nearly 50% of people with depression do not get treatment.

Investment in mental health makes financial and social sense, and failure to act is costly. If untreated, depression can be debilitating and even lead to suicide, which is the second leading cause of death among 15- to 29-year olds.

"Governments can improve mental health services, families and communities can provide social support, civil society groups can raise awareness, and individuals can seek help and treatment and talk to others about how they feel," Dr Fikri said.

Mental health services are also being provided in some countries by non-specialist general practitioners under the supervision of national specialists, trained through the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme, which has been introduced in over 90 low- and middle-income countries around the world.

This scaling up of mental health services and care is crucial, especially for the most vulnerable populations experiencing humanitarian crises, conflict, and displacement.

Health experts claim that depression has many causes. A combination of physical, psychological or social factors can cause the illness.

Some of these factors include a family history of depression, loss of a parent, child or other close relative or friend, chronic physical illnesses, alcohol or drug use, extreme stressors like war, conflict or natural disasters, experiencing adversity and abuse in childhood, rapid changes in life situations like marriage, childbirth or loss of a job, financial problems, belonging to a small group, and marital difficulties.

However, having strong social support can help ease some of the effects of these factors, they said.

Low levels of recognition and access to care for depression and other common mental disorders, such as anxiety, result in a global economic loss of more than $1 trillion every year. The losses are incurred by households, employers, and governments.

Absence from work affects household income, lower productivity of employees at work and when absent from work impacts employers, and higher health and welfare expenditures are a concern for the governments.

Yet, every $1 invested in scaling up the treatment for depression and anxiety leads to a return of $4 in improved health and ability to work, WHO said.