Depression Three out of four treated incorrectly

More and more people need medical help because of mental suffering

03/21/2014

More and more people are in need of medical help due to mental illness; one in five, for example, suffers from depression during their lifetime. In most cases this is a serious mental illness in which early diagnosis and therapy are important. However, despite rising numbers, sufferers in this country are apparently not treated sufficiently, especially in rural areas in the East and in Bavaria, the therapeutic offer is anything but adequate, according to a new study by the Bertelsmann Foundation.

One in five suffers from depression in the course of his life
People who suffer from depression usually need quick, expert and comprehensive help, because in most cases those affected by drift and hopelessness, the feeling of inner emptiness and deep sadness no longer find themselves alone. According to the Bertelsmann Foundation, it is currently possible to assume that about nine million people suffering from treatment-related depression, at least 15 percent of them in severe cases. For Prof. Martin Härter, the author of the study and director at the Institute of the Polyclinic for Medical Psychology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf a shocking conclusion: „The results are alarming. If depression is not treated properly, it can become chronic. Even more serious is the risk of suicide in severe depression. "

56 percent of the severely depressed are treated inadequately
Despite increasing numbers of people in need of treatment, however, the therapeutic range in Germany does not seem to be far from sufficient. According to the Bertelsmann Stiftung's latest "Factsheet on Health", 56 percent of the severely depressed are treated inadequately - which in this case means that they would be treated with either antidepressants or psychotherapy, but not with a much more effective combination of both.

Chance of appropriate treatment depending on the place of residence
According to the results, only 26 percent of those affected would receive this, while another 18 percent of the severely depressed would not receive any therapeutic help. How high the chance of an adequate treatment is depends on the study in a not inconsiderable part of the place of residence, because there are sometimes large regional differences in the supply of psychotherapists and psychiatric and psychosomatic specialists prevail. Here, North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse stand out, in that 30% and 29% of the affected people are adequately cared for. The situation is different in the low-light countries of Saxony-Anhalt (22%), Thuringia (20%) and Saarland (20%). ) out. According to the information provided by the foundation, especially in rural areas, for example in the administrative district of Mansfeld-Südharz (Saxony-Anhalt), only nine psychotherapists or specialists would have a population of 100,000. In the city states of Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg, on the other hand, there was a four times higher concentration of therapists than in the eastern German states.

Subject must be further disappointed
Given the rising numbers of those affected and the current inadequate supply, society would face major challenges, provided that they are the most vulnerable „mental health of the people“ wants to strengthen, so Teresa Enke, wife of national goalkeeper Robert Enke, who suffered for years from depression and as a result, in 2009 had taken his own life. „My wish is that we all develop a certain normality for those affected, because nobody needs to be ashamed of a mental illness. The topic has to be further disabused.“ (No)