By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
June 15, 2003
So far we have not had an earthquake in Canada. I'm almost afraid to mention it! As Shakespeare wrote, "When troubles come, they come not single spies but in battalions." He could have been writing about Canada's problems of SARS, Mad Cow Disease and The West Nile Virus. So I can't imagine a better topic than depression when so many of us are thinking "Why, God, have you done this to our country?"
Art Buchwald, the noted humorist, suffered from depression. He wrote about it, "Everything was black. The trees were black, the road was black. You can't believe how the colours change until you have it. It's scary."
Dick Cavett, the late-night talk show host, fought depression. And Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes has often talked publicly about his episodes of despair.
They're all in good company. Abraham Lincoln wrote, "I am the most miserable man living. Whether I shall ever be better I cannot tell. To remain as I am is impossible. I must die or get better."
And Winston Churchill despairingly remarked to his doctor, "I don't like to stand by the side of a ship and look down into the water. A seconds action would end everything. Is much known about worry, Charles?"
It's estimated that one in every 10 North Americans encounters depression. So one would think it would be easy to spot. But it's often an elusive diagnosis. It's rare that patients blurt out, "I'm depressed. Or that "I'm going to jump over Niagara Falls to end my life.
Dr. J. Raymond De Paulo, Professor of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University, predicts that by the year 2020 depression will be the second most debilitating disease worldwide, after heart disease, and a leading cause of death.
Depression isn't the despondency you experience when your partner runs off with the local preacher. Or the grief that accompanies the death of a loved one. Uncomplicated gloom is a normal reaction in such instances that is eased with the passage of time.
Rather, depression is a psychosomatic disorder of the entire body. A depressed person experiences more than just a troubled mind. A number of body systems are placed under strain.
Simple unhappiness or that "down-in-the-dumps" feeling becomes depression when people lose interest in events around them or things they used to enjoy. They have little or no desire for food or sex. They dwell gloomily on the past and complain of insomnia, fatigue, intestinal complaints and chronic pain. And they're often unable to make even the smallest decision.
The causes of depression are legion. Rates are higher for those with a family history of mental illness or depression. Some people are simply born unhappy. They would find it hard to smile after winning the 20 million dollar jackpot.
Illness is a major cause of depression. Who wouldn't be depressed by the onset of cancer, multiple sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's Disease? Or it can be a manifestation of guilt when a patient says, "I should have seen my Mother before she died". Or due to a combination of drugs.
How depression is treated depends on the gravity of the illness. Many cases are best treated by a caring family physician. One who is aware of the patient's overall medical problems and what family resources can be mustered to assist in the recovery. After all, not everyone with a headache needs a brain surgeon.
The most effective approach is support and understanding. Often merely the admission of guilt to an empathetic listener is enough to reverse depression.
But those beyond the range of communication need antidepressant drugs. The so-called "Happy drugs" such as Prozac could have helped Lincoln, Churchill, Cavett and others. It might even have stopped Vincent Van Gogh from cutting off his ear.
When isolation strikes a family member or friend depression should be suspected. Cavett would stay under the sheets until three in the afternoon. Just getting out of bed and taking the laundry downstairs was a huge effort. And it lasted six weeks before he sought treatment.
Each year 4,000 Canadians and 30,000 Americans commit suicide. So act quickly when you suspect depression. And in these depressing times please, please, God, at least protect our country from earthquakes.
W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com
My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:
Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1
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