Log in to Depnet to fight depression

DUBAI - In a recent joint study conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the World Bank and Harvard University, it was discovered that psychiatric conditions, including depression, bipolar affective disorders, schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorders, are among the leading causes of incapacitation worldwide.

By A Staff Reporter

Published: Sun 28 Sep 2003, 12:19 PM

Last updated: Wed 1 Apr 2015, 11:51 PM

The Lundbeck Institute has launched Depnet.ae, a community resource on the Internet where patients and their relatives can find information, share experiences and ask questions to a panel of experts on depression, one of the most common mental disorders around. Depressive disorders and anxiety disorders account for 20 to 30 per cent of all primary care visits worldwide.

According to the latest WHO figures, at least one per cent of the population in every Third World country suffers from severe incapacitating mental disorders and 10 per cent sufer from mild mental disorders. "In most countries including the UAE, there is a negative attitude towards psychiatrist. People should understand that depression is a curable disease. The attitude of people or the stigma attached to depression must be changed in order for the problem to be addressed immediately," said Dr Medhat El Sabbahy, Psychiatrist at the New Abu Dhabi Psychiatric Center.

Realising that education is the key to overcome this stigma, www.depnet.ae believes that by utilising the power of information technology, everyone could have access to a host of free information about depression on the web site. The stigma concerning depression is an issue most people are still afraid to talk about. One of the biggest problems with depression is the failure to recognise it.