Reading 12: DEPRESSION: IT IS REAL, AND IT IS TREATABLE

READING 12

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1 – 15 which are based on Reading 12.

DEPRESSION: IT IS REAL, AND IT IS TREATABLE

A         People with symptoms of diabetes or other physical problems see their doctors for treatment. Those with depression more often than not try to duke it out alone, according to southwest Minnesota mental health professionals, who say the ailment is prevalent in the region. Depression affects more than 19 million Americans annually, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Yet only one in three people seeks medical treatment.

B         Depression is nondiscriminatory, affecting all ages, sexes and races, local health professionals say. It is a disease -- not a weakness -- that depletes the brain of the chemical serotonin, and it rarely goes away by itself.

C         Females suffer from depression and seek treatment twice as often as males, according to data from the NIMH. Hormones play a role, as do a combination of genetic, psychological and environmental factors. The institute also reports that although depression is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease in both sexes, only men suffer a high death rate.

D         The Surgeon General estimates that one in five people will experience a depressive episode during their lifetime. "It is much more common than people realize,"said Johnson, a licensed marriage and family therapist. "Sometimes people get so depressed that they're unable to function at all, or they become depressed and self medicate with alcohol, and then another problem is created." Depression is one of the main reasons people come to the Southwest Mental Health Center. However, far greater numbers rely on family doctors to sort them out and probably just as many or more go untreated. "They don't want to cross over into the mental health field," Johnson said. "They worry about what others will think, or about the cost. It's more difficult in rural areas because everybody knows you and there is a stigma of asking for help."

E          Treatment takes time. People who do seek help often expect a quick fix, but medication helps the body replace serotonin slowly. It is subtle improvement that you almost have to be watching for, or you have to look back to how you were a month ago, or six weeks ago. Improvement comes gradually, as does the disorder. How long it takes depends on how well people can change events in their lives, how they interpret things. It depends on what skills you develop to manage the next stressors that comes your way. Many adults will take antidepressants for the rest of their lives and some won't. With kids, it can be more of a short-term treatment, but again it depends on the intensity and longevity of the disorder.

F          According to Terry Pankow, a licensed independent clinical social worker in Montevideo, the elderly are among the hardest to diagnose because their symptoms often take the form of physical complaints for which no medical cause or ideology exists. The Centers for Disease Control reports that as many as three out of every 100 people over 65 suffer from clinical depression.

G         Children and adolescents also are special cases, and they can carry depression into adulthood before getting treatment. One of the things that makes depression so hard to diagnose or sort out with children is that they don't' have the verbal skills, knowledge and sophistication to talk about 'I feel sad or this is making me miserable.' So many times what you see in children is rather than them verbalizing their feelings, they act their feelings out in terms of behavior. And so, lots of kids who are labeled as naughty are really depressed.

H         The NIMH estimates that up to 2.5 percent of children and up to 8.3 percent of adolescents in the U.S. suffer from depression. A study of 9- to 17-year-olds found that more than six percent experience some depression in any six-month period and nearly five percent have major depression.

I           Depression falls into two categories, Back said. Endogenous depression comes from a chemical imbalance, and exogenous depression arises from difficult situations and circumstances.

J           Depression affects different age groups and people within each age group differently. Symptoms include:

• ·         Difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions
• ·         Feeling angry or moody, crying easily or worrying a lot
• ·         Alcohol or drug use to mask feelings
• ·         Fatigue or loss of energy
• ·         Loss of interest in ordinary activities
• ·         Eating and sleeping disorders
• ·         Feeling sad, empty or numb
• ·         Feeling hopeless, helpless, guilty or worthless
• ·         Thoughts of suicide, suicide plans or attempts
• ·         Frequent doctor visits without relief in symptoms; all tests negative.

Children and adolescents might exhibit some of the same symptoms, as well as

aggression, frustration, marked disobedience, extreme self-consciousness, fluctuating

energy levels, a fascination for guns and knives, and a preoccupation with music, movies

and literature with death themes. They also might complain about dizziness, headaches,

stomachaches and body aches.

Questions 1 – 7

Reading Passage 1 has 9 paragraphs A – I.

Choose the most suitable headings for Paragraphs B - G, and I from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate numbers (i –ix) in boxes 1 – 7 on your answer sheet.

NB          There are more headings than paragraphs so you will not use all of them. You may use any of the 

                following headings more than once.

List of Headings

(i) Depression and the Americans

(ii) Defining depression

(iii) Long treatment

(iv) Depression and sex

(v) Depression and the elderly

(vi) Commonality of depression

(vii) Types of depression

(viii) NIMH statistics about adolescents

(ix) Depression and the children

                            1. Paragraph A

Example                    Paragraph B                                          Answer (ii)

2. Paragraph C

3. Paragraph D

4. Paragraph E

5. Paragraph F

6. Paragraph G

Example                    Paragraph H                                          Answer (viii)

7. Paragraph I

Questions 8 – 11

Complete the sentences below using words taken from the passage. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 8 – 11 on your answer sheet.

8. Depression affects more than 19 million Americans annually, among whom only one-third … 8 …

9. Affecting people of all ages, sexes and races, depression is … 9 …

10. According to the surgeon general, one-fifth of the people will experience a depressive episode … 10 ….

11. As the treatment of depression takes time, its improvement … 11 …

Questions 12 – 15

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 12 – 15 on your answer sheet write

YES                         if the statement agrees with the writer

NO                           if the statement does not agree with the writer.

NOT GIVEN           if there is no information about this in the passage

12. People with depression go to see their doctor more often than people suffering from physical problems.

13. There are more women suffering from depression than men.

14. In addition to the fear of being known by others, in rural areas fewer people go to see the doctor for depression because they do not have as much money as the city people.

15. Among the elderly, children and adolescents, the elderly are the hardest to diagnose.