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Comprehensive Airman Fitness: Depression diagnoses' on Fairchild mirror rest of country

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Buzanowski
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Depression was the number one diagnosis at the Fairchild clinic during April.

And again in May.

Depression was the second leading diagnosis for June.

Those three months resulted in 830 patient appointments at the mental health clinic and family health. Not only does depression rank within the top 10 diagnoses at Fairchild, but these statistics mirror the rest of the country.

"It's more common than people think," said Maj. Kim Floyd, 92nd Medical Operations Squadron mental health flight chief. "The National Institute for Mental Health reports 16.5 percent of Americans have experienced depression at some time, 6.7 percent within the last 12 months. Depression is common, under diagnosed and under treated."

A major depressive episode is defined when a person has several depression symptoms for at least two consecutive weeks.

"Depression is a treatable condition. Some people respond well to just therapy, others just medication and others do well with a combination of both," Floyd said.

Dr. (Capt.) Austin Dosh, psychiatrist, 92nd MDOS Mental Health Flight, said treatment is very successful. "With therapy or medication, we see 60 percent show improvement, but if these treatments are combined, we see an 80 percent rate of improvement in symptoms."

Some people may be concerned about starting a medication for depression. "We do not intrude upon your liberties. We can't force anyone to take medication, but for those who chose to take it, we see recovery in as little as 12 weeks. Also, today's medications have little side effects."

Those seeking treatment are sometimes referred by their primary care physicians because some signs of depression can manifest themselves physically. Physical symptoms of depression include weight loss from loss of appetite, loss of sleep and lack of energy.

"Some depressed people may experience worsening of chronic pain or physical discomfort," Dosh said.

Behaviorally, signs include withdrawing from social activities and increased irritability.

"In the military culture, the perception is that there's a stigma with having a mental health-related problem, such as depression. You'd be surprised at the number of military members who suffer from depression who are able to wear a mask for the time they are on duty, but they are really struggling inside," Floyd said.

Getting treatment early is the key.

"The longer depression is left untreated, the greater the risk for relapse. Depression is a chronic disorder that has a 50 percent rate of reoccurrence. Of those being treated for a second time, the relapse rate is 70 percent; for those being treated for a third time the rate is 90 percent," Floyd explained.

"Even if someone doesn't respond to treatment right away, there is a very good chance they will improve if they continue to seek treatment. The information came from a national study that looked at people who did not respond to the first anti-depressant they took, for those people that stayed with medication treatment, 75 percent got better eventually," Dosh said.

At Air Mobility Command, there is a continuing culture emphasizing spiritual, social, mental and physical fitness called Comprehensive Airman Fitness, officials said. Comprehensive Airman Fitness, or CAF, provides the framework to create and sustain communities on AMC installations that give Airmen and their families a sense of belonging to the Air Force community in which they live, work, and play, according to an AMC talking paper on CAF. In defining good mental fitness, the paper highlights states it's about "approaching life's challenges in a positive way by demonstrating self control, stamina and good character with choices and actions" and "seeking help and offering help" when required or needed.

Officials say to remember to further build the CAF culture and help Airmen and their families become more resilient. For more on seeking help, contact your base mental health professions. For more on CAF, see http://www.amc.af.mil/caf.

(Air Mobility Command Public Affairs contributed to this article.)