- Bilingual PSAs Compare Depression to Other Life-Threatening Diseases -
WASHINGTON, May 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In its latest effort to help Americans understand the seriousness of depression and the importance of seeking treatment, the Depression Is Real Coalition today distributed a groundbreaking series of PSAs titled, "It Is Depression" to media outlets nationwide. Spoken from the perspective of experts on the front lines of depression treatment, the PSAs urge the public to recognize that depression is a biological disease that can be as debilitating as other major illnesses like cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
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One print advertisement from the campaign poses a provocative question that illustrates popular misconceptions about depression: "You'd never say, 'It's just cancer, get over it.' So why do some say that about depression?" The words appear to be written in chalk on a school blackboard.
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"What people may not understand is that depression is not just a matter of being in a bad mood, or something that's in a person's mind. It's just like any other biologically-based disease. It has symptoms. It can be disabling, and even fatal," said David Shern, PhD, President and CEO of Coalition member organization Mental Health America. "In fact, depression is a condition that commonly co-occurs with chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease."
With the new campaign, the Depression Is Real Coalition continues its effort to educate the Spanish-speaking community about depression. "It is Depression" PSAs are available in both Spanish and English, and are supported by the Coalition's depressionisreal.org Web site, which also is available in Spanish. "Only about 1 in 11 Latino-Americans who have depression seek professional help," said Rosa Rosales, National President of the League of United Latin American Citizens. "We believe this powerful campaign will help change this staggering statistic."
The "It Is Depression" PSAs make up the Coalition's second bilingual, multi-media campaign about the reality of living with depression and the seriousness of the disease. The new PSAs, which will begin airing nationwide in early June, are available in television, radio and print versions. High-resolution copies can be downloaded at www.depressionisreal.org.
The new PSAs are an evolution of the Coalition's first "Elevator" campaign, which was released in September 2006 and took the issue of stigma and misperceptions around depression head on. To date, the "Elevator" campaign has generated more than 1.26 billion print and broadcast impressions. The Coalition also sponsors a weekly podcast, "The Down & Up Show on depressionisreal.org," which features experts and people with depression.
Dr. Rahn Bailey, a psychiatrist and Vice Speaker of the National Medical Association, another member of the Depression Is Real Coalition explained, "If more people living with depression realized that it's a serious, medical disease they'd be more inclined to seek help. We hope that through these PSAs people will hear the message, that depression is a life-threatening disease, but that there is hope - because depression can be treated."
The Depression Is Real public education campaign is sponsored by The American Psychiatric Foundation (a philanthropic and educational subsidiary of the American Psychiatric Association), the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, the League of United Latin American Citizens, Mental Health America, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Medical Association, the National Urban League and is made possible through the support of Wyeth.
For more information about depression and the coalition members, and to see elements of the Depression Is Real public education campaign,
