Move Those Feet!

Depression and Women - Are You on Drugs?

A successful journalist chronicles her journey with depression, and writes about two other journalists who have also written about their depressions. This is a serious topic for women (and men) who approach and enter middle age, as we all encounter problems that we might not be able to resolve. But, we can - with help. The following figures are gathered from this UK Guardian article about women and depression:

• 11.2 Percentage of women suffer from depression
• 300,000 Number of under-35s claiming incapacity benefit because of ‘mental and behavioral disorders’
• 20 Percentage of people with depression during their life
• £100bn Cost of mental health problems each year
• 31m Prescriptions for antidepressants in the UK in 2006
• 1 in 6 People with ’significant’ mental distress at any one time
• 3 Number of times more likely it is for a man to commit suicide than a woman
• 40 Percentage of those suffering with depression who never consult their GP
• 121m People affected by depression worldwide
• 2 in 5 Elderly people in care homes suffer depression
• 400 per 100,000 population - rate of self-harm in the UK
• 2 Percentage of under-12s affected by depression
• 5 Percentage of teenagers affected by depression
• 5,206,044 Calls to the Samaritans in 2006
• 70 Percentage of the prison population that has two or more mental health disorders

If this is the account of the problems with depression in the UK, what are the number for women in the US? You could look at the number of Prozac prescriptions for a start…Prozac generated $2.6 billion in annual sales before a U.S. appeals court stripped the drug of patent protection in 2001. Now that drug is everywhere, in addition to other drugs such as Cymbalta.

And that’s a shame, because exercise can help lift some of that depression, according to the Mayo Clinic. While exercise isn’t meant to replace medical therapy, it can improve confidence, help to improve interactions with others and can distract the individual from depressing thoughts. It also can empower the individual, as exercise can help a person feel as though she has some control in her life.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.