By Vrinda Suneja, M.D.
Medical Director
Fox Run

When doctors talk about “hidden” disorders, they almost always focus on the physical conditions. But there’s one mental health issue that’s perhaps the most unrecognized and undiagnosed of all: depression.

You don’t have to be battling depression yourself to have a need for knowing more about it. As you read this article, they odds are you’ll think of a good friend or loved one who should get a copy of it.

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill says, “Among all medical illnesses, major depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States.”

Judah Ronch, Ph.D, vice president of mental health and wellness at Erickson Retirement Communities explains, “Depression can predispose one to inactivity, which has been associated with reduced immune system response, thus leading to greater risk of illness.

“It’s estimated that depression in older Americans runs as high as 30 percent.”

Among the causes of depression in this age group are medication side effects, losing friends, and retirement.

A key step towards getting depression recognized is that we all—including our families, friends, and our physicians—must be more willing to talk about it. “Depression is still seen as a moral weakness. You get it because you’re not ‘tough enough,’” says Ronch.

That’s not true, of course. There are organic causes of depression, including loss of neurotransmitters in the brain.

Katherine Haag, A.P.R.N., director of mental health services for Erickson Retirement Communities, says, “We should think of it no differently than we do diabetes, in which your body’s not producing or processing certain chemicals properly.”

The good news is there’s so much that can be done to overcome depression. Treatments involve both a wide range of medications and behavior modification.