Insanity, Salt and the Japanese

Insanity, Salt and the Japanese



In 2007, 8 million people visited US hospital emergency departments (ED) with a mental disorder, 3 million with a substance abuse problem, and 1 million suffering both conditions.

According to latest figures released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, this accounts for one in eight of the 95 million visits to emergency departments by adults that year. (1)

Depression and other mood disorders accounted for 43 percent of the visits, while 26 percent were for anxiety disorders, and 23 percent involved alcohol-related problems. The World Health Organisation (WHO) say depression is a major health problem and predict that by 2020, depression will be the second- largest cause of the global health burden.

The disease is the highest prevalent disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) with about 40 million diagnosed cases in the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, and Japan. In the US alone, there are 15 million cases. Depression can lead to more severe health risks such as suicide and manic-depressive insanity, or, as it is more commonly known, Melancholia. (2)

Approximately 10% of people with depression suffer from Melancholic Depression.(3)

“Melancholia’s almost unique position amongst diseases in that it is characterized by only one essential symptom – mental or emotional depression,” says Robert Thompson, M.B., B.CH.(BELP.), D.P.M.(LOND) former resident medical superintendent, County Mental Hospital, Armagh, Ireland. (4)

In a manic state, attention span is low and a person may be easily distracted. Judgment may become impaired; sufferers may go on spending sprees or engage in behavior that is quite abnormal for them. They may indulge in substance abuse, particularly alcohol or other depressants, cocaine or other stimulants, or sleeping pills. Their behavior may become aggressive, intolerant or intrusive. People may feel out of control or unstoppable. (5)

Suicide

Research by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a component of the US Department of Health and Human Services, shows that 90 percent of people who die by suicide suffer from depression and other mental disorders, or a substance-abuse disorder (often in combination with other mental disorders).

In 2006, suicide was the eleventh leading cause of death in the US, accounting for 33,300 deaths. The overall rate was 10.9 suicide deaths per 100,000 people. An estimated 12 to 25 attempted suicides occur per every suicide death. (6)

Signs of Depression

• Fatigue

• Headaches

• Pain

• Irritability

• Changes in sleep patterns, such as sleeping too much or too little

• Changes in appetite

• Loss of interest in or lack of ability to perform daily activities

• Feelings of hopelessness and pessimism

• Difficulty concentrating

There is no single cause of depression. The condition is associated with an imbalance of brain chemicals, triggered by stress, life events as well as a combination of biological, psychological and social factors, and the physical components of air pollution.

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