You have a 20% chance of experiencing depression over the course of your life, according to large-scale studies in the U.S., and at any given time some 7% of the population is living with diagnosed depression.
A recent study found that more than 28% of medical residents reported feeling depressed — and up to 43% showed signs of depression when measured by clinical tools.
Why is the number so high for medical residents? One reason could be the intense stress and long work hours. Researchers theorized that the electronic connections modern medical residents have with their hospital programs may be part of why so many show symptoms of depression.
This new research supports the feeling in medicine today that burnout and depression are problems that need to be addressed within the workplace. But there are important takeaways here for all of us.
For one thing, we need to acknowledge that depression isn’t limited. Doctors get depressed. Teachers do too — nearly a quarter of teachers of young children and about 10% of teachers overall report symptoms of depression. Lawyers, according to some reports, suffer depression at twice the rate of the population as a whole. In other words, depression can be found among the people most of us look up to.
And that leads to the second important takeaway. The level of depression was high among the residents in the study — much higher than the level of reported depression. Too many people don’t speak up when they need help for depression.
In fact, too many people suffer in silence when they have mental health issues, including not just depression but anxiety, substance abuse, and other conditions that affect quality of life… and are treatable.
There is no reason to be embarrassed about mental health needs. Depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns are found in all walks of life, just as other health concerns are. We’re here to help. Contact us today.
