Video aims to raise awareness about depression

The Mental Health Commission yesterday launched a short video on depression, using the animated cartoon character Zozie.

The video, which has the accompanying motto 'The Initiative is in Your Hands, Take Care of Your Health', forms one of the activities being organised by the Commission for World Mental Health Day being marked tomorrow.

Commission chairman Marie Therese Camilleri Podesta said that although a high percentage of the population suffered from mental problems at one time or another, there was still a stigma attached to the condition.

The most common mental condition, she said, was depression. This affected everyone at one time or another. When sustained for a long period of time, the problem became serious.

Prof. Camilleri Podesta said there were two types of depression: reactive depression, which was triggered by something such as the death of a husband; and endogenous depression, which developed for no particular reason.

Depression could sometimes lead to suicide so those with symptoms should seek help, primarily from the family doctor, who would know how to direct the patient.

The video launched by the commission aims to raise awareness about depression.

Commission secretary Rose Gauci said statistics showed that as many as one in four people would experience a mental health problem at some time in their life, with one in 10 experiencing a severe mental health problem.

Depression affects seven to 12 per cent of men and for women the figure can be as high as 20 to 25 per cent.

Working days lost through mental illness cost the UK industry approximately £11.8 billion annually. Every year, more than 91 million working days are lost due to mental ill health.

Unfortunately there are no records for working days lost in Malta due to mental illness but in 2001, one million working days were lost due to illness - mental and physical.

In Malta, it is calculated that one in four women and one in six men at any one time seek help for depression.

As part of its Mental Health Day activities, the commission is also holding a one-day seminar entitled 'Stress within the family' at the University Residence in Lija on Friday between 9 a.m. and 3.30 p.m.