Depression is an invisible disease

• April 16, 2024

1 in 5 people will suffer from depression throughout their lives, experts say, however, they warn about one of their biggest risks: it is a disease that, currently, is underdiagnosed .

Depression does not respect gender, age or socioeconomic status. It goes beyond being a simple problem of encouragement and is not cured by encouraging or scolding who suffers. People with depression They do not choose to be like this. Among its main symptom they are: pain, sleeping and eating disorders; psychological reactions, such as the feeling of fear and anxiety; and cognitive, such as lack of concentration and memory, in addition to the difficulty to think and make decisions.

According to the doctor Jerónimo Saiz , President of the Spanish Society of Psychiatry, "depression is a public health problem because of its high prevalence, because of the disability it poses, because of the suffering that family members and the sick suffer, for the lost hours of quality of life, and, unfortunately, for the loss of lives because death for suicide It can be an end to this disease. "

The specialist adds that, nowadays, although the specialists know the disease very well and there are useful treatments, paradoxically there are "difficulties for the diagnosis and also for the treatment and a great part of the patients does not get to be diagnosed and , another part, it is not done properly. "

Depression, more common in women than in men

According to the doctorJerónimo Saiz , depressive disorder is more common in women (affects 1 in 5) than in men (1 in 10), increases in stages of life as the elderly and has a Associated morbidity in both sexes with physical illnesses and other psychiatric disorders.

In addition, it is a disease that can become chronicle with repeat episodes lifelong. In the case of women, it is also necessary to talk about the so-called postpartum depression that, in Mexico, affects 20% of mothers. According to the doctor Dunia by Martíni Romero , Head of the Clinical Department of the Hospital of Psychiatry "Dr. Hector Tovar Acosta "of the IMSS, it is one of the most frequent ailments after delivery and if not treated properly it can persist for months and even years.

It is very important to differentiate between sadness after a birth, which affects up to 80%, occurs during the first month, disappears on its own, and depression, which is caused by hormonal changes and chemicals in the brain, it can become chronic without timely treatment.

Video Medicine: Depression: The invisible Disease (April 2024).