“There is a dearth of empathy, even of kindness, in the national conversation, and those deficits turn ordinary neurosis into actionable despair,” writes Dr. Andrew Solomon.
"Some medications can cause undesirable side effects such as emotional dulling," says Dr. David Hellerstein. "Switching or augmenting with more activating medications can address that issue."
There are a number of factors — temperament, personality traits, self-esteem, genes, and family history, to name a few — involved in the etiology of clinical depression, says Dr. Myrna Weissman.
90% of people who die by suicide experience some kind of mental illness. Dr. John Mann, said that many of those patients go without help in the US because they can't afford care or don't seek it out.
“Very few PCPs are comfortable managing more serious conditions," says Dr. Mark Olfson. "In rural areas of the country. . .people with these conditions are at real risk.”
“Although the number of suicides that occur in clusters may be relatively small, they represent a class of suicides that may be particularly preventable,” said Dr. Madelyn Gould.
Dr. Mark Olfson found that people who take the more than 200 common medications sold in the U.S. that include depression as a potential side effect are, in fact, more likely to be depressed.
