“In any given 1-year period, 9.5 percent of the population, or about 18.8 million American adults, suffer from a depressive illness. The economic cost for this disorder is high, but the cost in human suffering cannot be estimated. Depressive illnesses often interfere with normal functioning and cause pain and suffering not only to those who have a disorder, but also to those who care about them. Serious depression can destroy family life as well as the life of the ill person. But much of this suffering is unnecessary”(NIMH).

There are three main categories of depressive disorder such as: dysthymia, depression and bipolar depression (manic depression). Depression tends to be a chronic and recurring illness. Dysthymia unlike clinical depression tends to be milder persistent symptoms that may last for years. The third depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, cycles between extreme highs (manias) and major depressive episodes, bipolar being the least common of the three. Depression affects 15 percent of Americans at one point during their lives (NIMH).

Depression has affected the lives of children, teenagers and adults throughout the world. Of all the other mental illnesses, depression

The first step in treating depression is a clinical evaluation. It involves a physical examination and lab tests, medical and psychiatric history and mental status examination. The physical exam is needed to rule out disorders like thyroid disease, anemia or a viral infection that could produce similar symptoms as a depressive disorder. The lab tests include a thyroid screening and blood count. The neurological exam tests coordination reflexes and balance. Occasionally the doctor will do a follow up with an electroencephalogram, which scans the brain to see its structure and the way it functions. The most important part of this initial evaluation is the history of the person’s life; finding out about what may have caused the problem and seeing how severe it is and how long it has been a problem. The doctor will also look at the person’s medical history to detect if there were any previous depressions and if so, the kinds of medications prescribed. The doctor will also check out the person’s family history to see if there is a pattern of depression with other family members. The last part of the examination is an assessment of mental status, where the doctor will observe the patients thought process, speaking patterns and memory, which would indicate that the person might be suffering from depression and/or manic episodes.

An episode of clinical depression can be caused by a dramatic and persistent behavioral change; “…the once very social women becomes reclusive” (Sergant 4). Some people may have only one episode of clinical depression in a lifetime, but more often it is a reoccurring disorder. This kind of depression can follow after a difficult loss, or postpartum (after a women gives birth).

The future of health care is in our own hands, and by looking to other countries and states, for examples, we can create a system in our own country that considers everyone who lives here. A system that doesn’t overlook those with treatable illnesses such as depression, but rather works on improving the health care problems that our country is facing today.

“A 1982 study of 3,000 children found that almost 15 percent of them had symptoms of depression; the same study found that by age 15, one out of every five children are depressed. The average length of depression in childhood is about seven months, but the younger the child, the more serious the prognosis. Odds are great that a child who has experienced one major depression will have another episode. …Experts estimate that up to 20 percent of the more than 30 million people over the age of 65 in this country may be experiencing a major depression. In fact, depression is more than four times more common in this age group than in the general population, and the suicide rate for people over 65 is fifteen times higher”(“Who Gets Depressed?”)

In 1989, Oregon passed a trio of laws which hoped to provide relief to more than 450,000 uninsured Oregonians, most of which were employed. The plan was to reform Medicaid, create new employer incentives for health insurance purchase, and create a high-risk insurance pool coordinated by state governments. Their approach involved a four-step process. The first was to create a list of health service priorities (696 items), the second was setting the budget, and thirdly, providing the agencies with a budget decision that creates the benefit package for Medicaid and private insurance packages. An organization of administrative and evaluative elements is given the responsibility to run the social program. Lastly, the plan must be implemented. Two kinds of data were gathered for the plan. Individual value data was compiled by telephone survey data, such as “a set of weighted categories and symptoms that were to be used by health care providers to characterize the probable outcomes of treatments for specific conditions” (Chapman 217). Evaluative data was generated at twelve public hearings a

Some topics in this essay:
NIMH Depression, College Physicians, Larry Churchill, Desipramine Effexor, John’s Wort, Healthcare Society, Medical Association, health care, Product GDP, Currently America, Canada” Chapman, major depression, suffer depression, st john’s, people suffer, clinical depression, john’s wort, st john’s wort, depression depression, people suffer depression, primary care, depressive disorder, health care system, chapman 144-5 model, health care costs,