One out of every six people in the UK deal with mental health issues over the course of a year, a charity has claimed.
The most common struggle is with a mixture of depression and anxiety. The number of work days lost to such conditions has increased by 24 per cent since 2009 and that the unemployment rate for people with depression is double that of the general population, according to charity the Depression Alliance.
In response to these challenges, the organisation announced the launch of a report entitled Work In Progress this week. They were joined by other specialist charities such as Scottish organisation Action on Depression, Welsh mental health group Gofal and AWARE from Northern Ireland. To mark National Depression Week, the report highlighted the problems faced by people in the workplace when they suffer from the condition.
Work In Progress included a poll of MPs on matters related to depression which had been taken the previous year. A majority of those questioned – 76 per cent – said that mental health care services should have the same mandatory funding as the help available for physical health. But only eight per cent believed the NHS was equipped to manage depression effectively.
The report included a number of policy recommendations to combat the issue. These included “a cross-government commitment to improving mental health and wellbeing” by doing more to make conditions in the workplace better for people with depression; and a call to provide “clear guidance and support to employers to promote the wellbeing of their employees”.
Last year, a report by the Huffington Post suggested that almost half of British men have suffered from depression at some point in their lives.