Dr. Walter Griffith Explains Depression

An Overview of Depression

  • Before learning more about TMS, I want to illustrate the severity of clinical depression in the United States.  1 in 4 women (and 1 in 8 men) will experience an episode of major depression during their lifetime.

  • Let’s put it in perspective. This means if you were to see 4 random women in a day, hypothetically, one of them will suffer from an episode of Depression in their lifetime. 

  • Depression is a lot more widespread than we think. Many people suffering from depression live with it for YEARS. Many never find a cure.

  • Some of the reasons: they don’t recognize they are depressed so never seek treatment.  Others DO recognize they are depressed, and they seek treatment but are undertreated or misdiagnosed (maybe with an anxiety disorder) by their doctor.  Some people are too apprehensive about seeking help.   

  • At any one time, 7% of US adults (16 million people!) are battling depression. This next statistic is staggering. If you have depression, you have a 30% chance of attempting suicide. Each year in the US, depression will cause 25,000 COMPLETED suicides. Suicide is in the top ten leading causes of death in the US.

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Causes Of Depression

  • 1

    Genetic

    First, you may have inherited a genetic predisposition for depression where it occurs in places of your family tree, like your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and/or siblings

  • 2

    High Levels of Stress

    Second, depression could be triggered by very high levels of stress in your environment, such as being laid off and your finances are in ruin

  • 3

    Poor Coping Skills

    Third, you may have maladaptive coping skills where you habitually make bad decisions, such as choosing romances that make your life miserable

  • 4

    Other Health Problems

    Fourth, medical problems may cause depression, such as thyroid disease causing a “hormonal” depression, or the stress of chronic daily pain from a back injury causing disability and therefore depression.

3 Minute Depression Test

Instructions: Fill out the form. There is a list of questions that relate to life experiences common among people who have been diagnosed with depression. Please read each question carefully, and indicate how often you have experienced the same or similar challenges in the past few months.

FAQ’s