BBC News released an article: “Depression looms as global crisis.”

Here are some excerpts:

The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that within 20 years more people will be affected by depression than any other health problem.

According to the WHO, depression will be the biggest health burden on society both economically and sociologically. Yet, it says most developing countries spend less than 2% of their national budgets on mental healthcare.

The warning comes as the first Global Mental Health Summit starts in Athens, Greece.

WHO figures reveal that currently, over 450 million people are directly affected by mental disorders or disabilities, most of whom live in developing countries.

The five-day summit in Athens will provide the opportunity to address what the organizers are calling a crisis in global mental healthcare.

The scientific concept of “burden” is the measure of years lost of life, due to early death or severe disability brought on by a certain illness, in this case depression.

Dr Saxena says depression is much more common than some other diseases that are more widely feared such as HIV-Aids or cancer.

“One could call it a silent epidemic because depression is more often being recognized, but it has been there throughout and is likely to increase in terms of proportion when other diseases are actually going down.”

THE SILENT EPIDEMIC

About half of mental disorders begin before the age of 14.

Around 20% of the world’s children and adolescents are estimated to have mental disorders or problems.

Most low- and middle-income countries have only one child psychiatrist for every 1 to 4 million people.

About 800,000 people commit suicide every year, 86% of them in low- and middle-income countries.

More than half of the people who kill themselves are aged between 15 and 44.

The article can be found online at:

<[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8230549.stm> 

Hang in there!

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Guide To Self, Inc.

Danville, CA

[2] Shrunken Mind w/Dr. John Schinnerer - Using Positive Psychology to Master Life