抑郁症成为全世界最普遍的一种疾病

你或你认识的人很有可能正在遭受抑郁症的折磨。世界卫生组织对抑郁症的定义是“难以排遣的悲伤和对本来热衷的活动了无兴趣，伴随着无法从事日常活动，时间可持续14天或更长。”据该组织统计，全球抑郁症患病率从2005年以来增长了超过18%。

2015年，世界卫生组织估计全球共有3.22亿人患有抑郁症，这是其成为全球导致疾病健康问题和残疾的主要原因。令人担忧的是，世界卫生组织发现多数抑郁症患者并没有得到充分治疗（并不令人意外）： 在高收入国家，估计有50%的抑郁症患者未得到治疗，而在低收入国家，这一比例高达80%至90%。

这种情况一方面原因是缺乏资金——平均仅有3%的政府资金被用于精神健康项目。

世界卫生组织总干事陈冯富珍在一份声明中表示：“这些新的数字呼唤所有国家都来反思他们的精神卫生方针，并在处理过程中保持应有的紧迫感。”

抑郁症会带来经济和心理上的影响。精神不振、胃口和睡眠模式变化、滥用毒品、焦虑和产生自残的想法等症状，不仅有害精神或身体健康，还会影响经济生产力。（世界卫生组织估计抑郁症相关成本每年达到1万亿美元。）

据美国国立卫生研究院统计，美国估计有1,610万成年人在去年经历过至少一次严重抑郁发作，占到总人口的近7%。

虽然人们对抑郁症依旧存在偏见，但越来越多的人开始说出他们自己患抑郁症的经历。陈冯富珍认为，真是一个令人鼓舞的信号：

“ 对于抑郁症患者来说，与他们信任的人交谈往往是走向治疗和康复的第一步。”（财富中文网）

译者：刘进龙/汪皓

Chances are, you or someone you know has grappled with depression. The global rate of disorder, which the World Health Organization defines as a "persistent sadness and a loss of interest in activities that people normally enjoy, accompanied by an inability to carry out daily activities for two weeks or more,” has risen by more than 18% since 2005, according to the agency.

In 2015, the WHO estimated 322 million people were living with depression, making it the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide. Worryingly, if unsurprisingly, the agency found that the majority of those with the condition aren’t receiving adequate care: in high income countries, it estimates 50% of those with the disorder don’t get treatment, while in low-income countries that number rises to 80% to 90%.

In part, this stems from a lack of funding — on average, only 3% of a government’s health budget is spent on mental health programs.

"These new figures are a wake-up call for all countries to re-think their approaches to mental health and to treat it with the urgency it deserves," Margaret Chan, the WHO's director-general, said in a statement.

Depression’s impact is financial, as well as psychological. Symptoms include lack of energy, changes in appetite and sleep patterns, substance abuse, anxiety, and thoughts of self-harm, which, while clearly not great for mental or physical health, also take a toll on economic productivity. (The WHO estimates that costs related to the condition add up to $1 trillion annually.)

In the U.S., an estimated 16.1 million adults, or nearly 7% of the population, has experienced at least one major depressive episode in the last year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

While there’s still a stigma associated with the condition, more people are speaking out about their own, individual experiences. Which is an encouraging sign, according to Chan:

“For someone living with depression, talking to a person they trust is often the first step towards treatment and recovery.”