Alarming predictions for depression
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), depression is expected to become the world’s second biggest health problem after heart disease by 2020.
This alarming prediction follows an NHS report published in January, which claimed that the number of women suffering from depression was on the rise. The report revealed that about 20 per cent of adult women were suffering from a common mental disorder, compared with about 12 per cent of men.
Worryingly, the number of prescriptions for antidepressants reached a record high of £36 million in 2008.
Antidepressants are the most common form of treatment prescribed by GPs for bouts of depression. Medical magazine Pulse claims that 93 per cent of GPs feel they have little alternative but to prescribe antidepressants because waiting lists for ‘talking therapies’ are so long.
In a bid to reverse the increasing trend of antidepressant prescription, the Government announced last year that it would be releasing more funds to train therapists. But with the onset of the recession, latest reports suggest that the £173 million initiative will be scaled down significantly.
Westfield Health includes a 24-hour freephone counselling and advice line on the majority of its health cash plans. The service, provided by FirstAssist on behalf of Westfield, enables policyholders to speak to a trained counsellor, lawyer or medical adviser at any time, day or night.
Some of Westfield’s corporate cash plans also include up to six face-to-face counselling sessions, which give policyholders the opportunity to talk through issues in person.
FirstAssist has released some usage statistics, which support the WHO prediction that depression is becoming an increasing problem. Based on Westfield policyholders, data compared from July 2007 to June 2008 and July 2008 to June 2009 showed that the number of emotional-related counselling calls was up by nearly 90 per cent.
Calls related to anxiety have increased by nearly 60 per cent, stress by 85 per cent and depression by 97 per cent. Meanwhile, the number of people using the service because of low self esteem issues has jumped alarmingly by more than 220 per cent.
Employment-related counselling calls also saw a huge increase, rising by more than 100 per cent, with work-related stress calls up 150 per cent. Legal calls in relation to redundancy have increased by 320 per cent.
These statistics show that mental health disorders are on the increase, but also suggest that talking therapies are an increasingly popular treatment choice for sufferers. If they were more widely available, GPs may be more reluctant to prescribe antidepressants.
Source - www.telegraph.co.uk
© Westfield Health Insurance 2012
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