Depression

All money raised from The Modern Woman’s Anthology will go to the Black Dog Institute to assist their continued work and research.

Here are some interesting facts and figures about mental health:

• Mental disorders are the third leading cause of the non-fatal burden of disease and injury in Australia.
• One in five Australians experience mental illness within a 12-month period.
• In 2007, almost half (45%) of all Australians had experienced a mental disorder at some point in their lifetime.
• The World Health Organisation estimates that depression will be the number one cause of disability in both the developed and developing worlds by 2030.
• 7.1% of women, compared to 5.3% of men, are more likely to report experiencing mood disorders.
• Women are at increased risk of becoming depressed during pregnancy and are especially at risk during the first year after childbirth. Postnatal depression (PND) affects almost 16% of first-time mothers in Australia.
• Mood disorders (i.e. depression and bipolar disorder) are overall more prevalent among people in the 35-44 age group, while for women they are much more prevalent in the 18-24 age group.
• Depression can be inherited. The genetic risk of developing clinical depression is about 40%, with the remaining 60% being due to stressful events in a person’s life, alone, or in conjunction with the individual’s personality style.