By Natalie Mills
Life is too short to be depressed. As many as two thirds of the people with depression do not realize that they have a treatable illness and do not seek treatment. Only 50% of persons diagnosed with major depression receive any kind of treatment, and only 20% of these receive treatment consistent with current practice guidelines of the American Psychiatric Association (APA).2,3 More alarming, in a large recent Canadian study, 48% of patients who have suicidal ideation and 24% of those who have made a suicide attempt report not receiving care or even perceiving the need for care.
Persistent ignorance and misperceptions of the disease by the public, and even some health providers, as a personal weakness or failing that can be willed or wished away, leads to painful stigmatization and avoidance of the diagnosis by many of those affected.
I am designing and educational and therapeutic group designed to teach people what the most current research says about the most effective ways to deal with depression without medication.
