Depression, a Widely Misunderstood Ailment

By Heather Sells and Darla Sitton

CBN News

CBNNews.com - Depression is Real, a coalition of doctors and patients, are launching a public education campaign to make Americans more aware of the dangers of depression.

Over 19 million Americans suffer from it and it can be fatal, but it can improve with treatment.

Major depressive disorder is one of the world's most common ailments. Yet - doctors say - it's also one of the most widely misunderstood. While many patients improve with traditional treatments of talk therapy and antidepressants, for some four million, nothing seems to work.

Kitty Dukakis was one of those. When she helped her husband Michael campaign for the presidency back in 1988, she looked like she had it all together. But behind the smile, doctors say she was severely depressed. Today, after finding help, she's educating others.

Kitty's condition improved after undergoing medical treatments called, "electro-convulsive therapy," or ECT.

ECT is much more advanced now than it used to be back in the 1960s when doctors first used it as a psychiatric treatment.

Here's how it works. The patient is put to sleep, then doctors jolt the brain with about 20 volts of electricity - enough to light up a 10-watt bulb for a second.

"This is a very precisely regulated electrical stimulus of low intensity," said Dr. Charles Welch of Massachusetts General Hospital.

The shock induces a seizure, which - doctors say - somehow normalizes brain function, reducing symptoms of depression. But, as critics point out, there are side effects.

Dr. John Breeding of the Coalition for the Abolition of Electroshock in Texas said, "Electroshock always causes brain damage. It's just a matter of how much."

And even if you don't need such a drastic therapy, doctors caution, if you're suffering -- seek a physician's advice.

"There are more suicides each year for untreated depression than deaths as a result of homicide and war combined," said Sue Bergeson from the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.

"Depression is real," said Oscar Morgan of the National Mental Health Association. "And the time is long overdue to treat depression and other mental health illnesses with the same urgency and compassion which we treat other chronic conditions."

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