Are stresses leading you to depression? Find out
By MaryAnn Kromer, mkromer@advertiser-tribune.comFact Box
The schedule for screenings
Depression screenings Thursday
* Wyandot Memorial Hospital, 885 N. Sandusky St., Upper Sandusky, noon-2 p.m. in the community room.
* Tiffin University, 10 a.m.-noon and 2:30-4:30 p.m., Gillmor Student Center, Miami St., Tiffin.
* Community Hospice, 181 E. Perry St., Tiffin, 2-4 p.m.
* Fremont Memorial Hospital, 715 S. Taft Ave., Fremont, 3-6 p.m.
The struggling economy, the mortgage crisis, unemployment, inadequate or no health care benefits, rising costs for most goods and services, cuts in community assistance programs. It's enough to drive a person into depression.
Members of the Suicide Prevention Coalition know of the link between depression and suicide, and they know depression can be treated successfully, if its signs are recognized. The coalition is sponsoring depression screenings Thursday at four locations so individuals can learn whether they are suffering from depression.
Karen Goshe, community liaison at Firelands Counseling and Recovery Services of Seneca and Wyandot Counties, explained each person who comes for the screening is asked to complete a two-sided form. A licensed therapist then scores the responses and reviews the results with the person.
The process takes 15-30 minutes.
"We have referral information available and educational materials," Goshe said.
She added people are welcome to pick up information without undergoing the screening. Brochures about anxiety and bi-polar disorders, which often accompany depression, are to be available, as well as literature from the local chapter of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. NAMI offers many support groups to the public, free of charge.
Tiffin resident David Culp, a retired minister and board member for NAMI, spoke about his own battle with depression that began more than two years ago. He said physical symptoms such as abdominal pain, lethargy, fatigue and confusion had been bothering him for months before receiving a diagnosis of depression.
Culp has written a reflection about his "journey" in an effort to heal and to educate others. He writes about his involvement in a traffic accident that was not life-threatening but that seemed to bring his problems to a head. Although he had been listening to the cares of others and giving advice for nearly 38 years, he found himself in need of assistance.
"A friend got me to counseling," Culp said. "For counseling to be worth anything, you have to be totally honest to look at yourself and be willing to learn the tools to deal with depression."
In addition to counseling, Culp said, medication has helped him. The other tools he is using include meditation, exercise, activities and spending time talking with friends. Research indicates 80 percent of clergy have suffered from depression at one time or another. Culp said he has started a monthly support group, led by a licensed counselor, for fellow clergy.
Although not fully recovered, Culp said he is feeling much better. He said his mother also was treated for depression in the 1930s, but the methods of the time did not give her significant relief. Research, modern therapies and better medications now are available.
Culp said he appreciates those resources; yet, in spite of advances, not everyone understands the seriousness of mental illness and the physical effects it can have on a person. Heredity, traumatic events and anxiety from a variety of sources can lead to depression. Culp advises anyone who suspects he or she has depression to seek medical attention.
"Sometimes, people are afraid to to admit they have problem," Culp said. "If they have the symptoms, it's important to have the screening."
Culp said he carries a small, smooth stone in his pocket as a reminder he has survived some difficult times. His hope is to let others know that depression is not necessarily a "hopeless journey," but one that can create "a new sense of being."
