24 Facts about Depression

1. 350 million people of all ages around the world suffer from depression.
2. Women are approximately two times more likely than men to suffer from major depression.
3. Placebos are 31% to 38% effective in treating depression, compared to 46% to 54% for antidepressants.
4. Depression can cause you to dream up to 3 to 4 times more than you normally would.
5. Severe Depression can cause us to biologically age more by increasing the aging process in cells.
6. 1 in 8 adolescents in the U.S. have clinical depression.
7. Research conducted on comedians and funny people have shown they are usually more depressed than average.
8. 10 times more people suffer from major depression now than in 1945.
9. People who spend a lot of time on the internet are more likely to be depressed, lonely and mentally unstable, a study found.
10. Iceland is very depressed: it has the world's highest rate of antidepressant use.
11. Lincoln suffered depression and avoided carrying knives, fearing he would use it on himself.
12. Elephants and chimpanzees can display behavior patterns similar to post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.


13. 1 in 5 people in France has experienced depression making it the most depressed country in the world.
14. Sigmund Freud recommended Cocaine as treatment for depression, alcoholism, and morphine addiction.
15. Gratitude can boost dopamine and serotonin, just like antidepressants.
16. Moderate exercise can not only treat but actually prevent episodes of depression in the long term.
17. 14.8 million American adults have depression. That's 6.7% of the U.S. population age 18 and older.
18. The median age for depression in the U.S. is 32.
19. In Belgium, people with autism, bipolar disorder, depression and other mental illnesses can request to be euthanised.
20. Women who use a hormonal form of birth control are more likely to be diagnosed with depression compared to those who don't.
21. Some users of antidepressant Clomipramine have found that it causes the strange side effect of orgasms after yawning.
22. Learned helplessness is a condition in which a person suffers from a sense of powerlessness, arising from a traumatic event or persistent failure to succeed. It is thought to be one of the underlying causes of depression.
23. Postpartum depression in fathers is very real: about 10% of men report symptoms of depression following the birth of a child.
24. People who work more than 11 hours a day are almost 2.5 times more likely to have a major depressive episode than those who work 7 to 8.