Americans Don't Believe They Know Much About Depression, Says Survey

In a survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), respondents reported that they do not believe the know much about depression. They are, however, very aware of the risks of not getting treated.

The survey included responses from members of the general public who do not know anyone with depression, caregivers of adults with depression and adults living with the condition. It was conducted online between September 29 and October 7, 2009 and included 1,015 people who did not know anyone with depression, 263 caregivers and 513 with depression.

Some of the survey's other findings:

• Seventy-one percent of the survey takers believe they know some symptoms of depression, while 39% reported that they did not know many or any at all.
• Fifty percent of caretakers admitting to having had depression themselves, but only 25% were actually seeking treatment.
• Nearly 60% of people with depression reported that they depend upon their primary care physician for treatment rather than seeing a mental health professional.
• Among the reasons that people reported discontinuing treatment were: cost, a desire to "make it on my own", a belief that the treatment was not helping and medication side-effects.

The complete survey results can be found at: http://www.nami.org/depression.