So, while depression was more common for young adults, it was also less likely to be less severe. Depression was not as prevalent among adults 30 and older, and severe depression did not vary much by age group. But moderate depression had the most significant impact on adults aged 45 to 65 years.
Data from the National Health Interview Survey
The percentage of adults who experienced any symptoms of depression was highest among those aged 18–29 (21.0%), followed by those aged 45–64 (18.4%) and 65 and over (18.4%), and lastly, by those aged 30–44 (16.8%).
In their lifetimes, about one in five Australians will experience depression. Around the world, depression affects around 300 million people. Depression is the most commonly experienced mental health challenge for young people aged between 12-25 years old.
For example, depression is more common among women than men. The median age of onset for depression is 32 years, meaning that half of people who will ever have a depressive episode will have had their first episode by this age.
In 2022, a study conducted by Mental Health Research Canada (pdf) found that 17% of those aged 20-29 reported feelings of depression.
Many people in their 20s are going through significant life changes and transitions, such as finishing school, starting a new job, moving to a new city, and navigating new relationships. These changes can be stressful and overwhelming, and they can trigger feelings of sadness, anxiety, and depression.
One's late twenties and early thirties, from an emotional perspective, are therefore the worst part of life. It's during these years that people experience the most negative thoughts and feelings and experience the most mind wandering, a psychological state that has been shown to be detrimental to well-being.
Researchers have known for years that women are about twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression as men, with depression being the leading cause of disease burden among women.
The peak ages for anxiety are typically between the ages of 5-7 years old and adolescence. However, everyone is different, and your anxiety can peak at various times, depending on what triggers it initially. Merely feeling anxious is the body's response to danger as the fight-or-flight hormone kicks in.
Anxiety disorders (such as Social Phobia) are the most common type of disorder, affecting 1 in 6 (17%, or 3.3 million) Australians, followed by Affective disorders (such as Depressive Episode) (8%), and Substance Use disorders (such as Alcohol Dependence) (3. %).
In Australia, approximately 14% of 4 to 17 year olds experience a mental health problem each year, amounting to 560,000 Australian children and adolescents in any one year, with 278,000 and 112,000 experiencing anxiety and depression disorders, respectively [1].
Each year, about 1 in every 5 Australians will experience a mental illness. Almost half the population has experienced a mental health disorder at some time in their life.
Depression often begins in the teens, 20s or 30s, but it can happen at any age. More women than men are diagnosed with depression, but this may be due in part because women are more likely to seek treatment.
Adults 60 years of age and older are more likely to experience physical symptoms of anxiety than younger people. This age group also has a higher risk for medical problems, and they may take more medications. Both of these things can raise the risk of developing an anxiety disorder.
Countries with the least depression include several smaller, lower-income countries in South Asia such as Brunei, Myanmar, Timor-Leste and Mali, where less than 2.5% of the population is reported to have a depressive disorder.
Depression results from a complex interaction of social, psychological, and biological factors. People who have gone through adverse life events (unemployment, bereavement, traumatic events) are more likely to develop depression.
Types of Depression: Major, Chronic, Manic, and More Types.
This, says Bill Deakin, has pointed them to several relevant features of brain function. They include cognitive flexibility - our capacity to adapt our thinking to different situations - and also the extent to which our brains concentrate on processing and remembering happy, as opposed to sad, information.
There's no single cause of depression. It can occur for a variety of reasons and it has many different triggers. For some people, an upsetting or stressful life event, such as bereavement, divorce, illness, redundancy and job or money worries, can be the cause. Different causes can often combine to trigger depression.
Each person's recovery is different. Some recover in a few weeks or months. But for others, depression is a long-term illness. In about 20% to 30% of people who have an episode of depression, the symptoms don't entirely go away.
The 20s...it's the phase where so many things change in our lives and it all happens so fast. There's angst, discovery, unpredictability and a sense of self-realization. It's the time we truly leave childhood behind and enter a whole new world of responsibility.
According to a study from the US's National Bureau of Economic Research, 47.2 is the unhappiest age you can be.
According to a new study, there IS a point where life gets EASIER. And that point is . . . age 44. The study found that people stress out in their 20s over things like finding a job, saving money, and dating . . . and people stress in their 30s over things like moving up in a career and starting a family.