It's October and National Depression Screening Day is here

                                                                                         

Once a year as Fall starts shading into Winter, October comes with the promise of Mental Awareness Week. By tradition, every Thursday of the week is National Depression Screening Day. This program was begun by Screening for Mental Health, Inc., a non-profit group, in 1991 and it has become an increasingly important early warning system. Just as we all routinely accept the idea of screening for breast cancer, lung cancer, heart disease and other physical disorders, it’s time to apply the same approach to mental illness. Too often, people fall more seriously ill because they do not see a doctor early enough. There are many reasons for this. There’s considerable social stigma for those judged mental ill. Worse, almost 50 million in the US are without any medical insurance, and even those with insurance often find their policies not not cover "wellness" screening activities. So, on this Thursday, local mental health professionals volunteer their time across America. You will find sessions in schools, colleges, shopping malls and public buildings. These sessions are completely free and absolutely confidential. This is your chance to find out more about anxiety and depression in general, and to talk face-to-face with a counselor if you think you may have problems. Last year, there were about 3,000 sessions run and professionals saw 85,000 people walk in. There are also online programs and a toll-free telephone line operating around the year.

Why bother? The answer is itself somewhat depressing. Regardless of age, race and social class, full clinical depression affects more than 20 million adults in the US. Curiously, four times more women than men are diagnosed as depressed. Millions more suffer from anxiety and panic disorders. A recent nationwide survey found more than 40% of college students so badly affected by anxiety, they could only function by relying on alcohol and drugs. Let’s be clear about this. These are serious illnesses and one of the possible outcomes is suicide. Even if people continue to live, their lives are often so damaged they cannot continue to work and become institutionalized. So there is benefit for tax payers, families and those affected if there’s early diagnosis and effective treatment. Yet research suggests that more than 60% of people who suffer from anxiety and depressive disorders do not seek treatment. This is ironic because the medical evidence shows that medication, counseling and therapy cures more than 80% of those affected.

Attending one of these session is not a substitute for going to see your own doctor but it’s a start. It will tell you whether your symptoms are real and serious enough to justify treatment. One of the complications is that too many people are diagnosing themselves and deciding they should just start a course of xanax. Anyone with a credit card can buy xanax from an online pharmacy without a prescription. Even though this drugs is highly effective in treating anxiety, the best results come when you combine xanax with counseling and therapy. If you do not learn how to cope without drugs, there is a serious risk of addiction.

About the author:
See what John Scott has written on other topics by visiting http://www.forgetanxiety.com/more-articles/national-depression.html, the site where he has frequent contributions and open discussions. John Scott has a vast experience in the domain and will give you a better idea of it.


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