Depression (major depressive disorder or clinical depression) is a common but serious mood disorder. It causes severe symptoms that affect how you feel, think, and handle daily activities such as sleeping, eating, or working. Depression, often linked to cases of suicide, will become the leading cause of burden of diseases worldwide by 2030, a mental health consultant, Ookame Charles revealed on Friday.
Speaking during the launch of Embrace Emotions Support Network (EESN) Association, which deals with mental health problems and mental illnesses, Charles said that currently depression is the second leading cause of burden among all diseases. “Mental disorders account for 12% of global disease burden. Suicide cases come from depression. (Approximately) 3.7% of Batswana live with mental illness ranging from mild to severe. This comes from a health survey done in 2003 and the statistics must have grown due to cases of drugs,” Charles said. He added that 800,000 people die from suicide globally and the age range of people who commit suicide is from 19 to 45.
