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HEALTH RESOURCES
Emmy-Award
Winning Actress Linda Dano to Spearhead National Campaign
by
HealthyWomen.gov
Running Low? How Would You Like FREE* Gasoline for One Year?
To encourage a support team approach to overcoming depression. The
Support Partners program includes guidebooks to help people with
depression and their loved ones.
Multimedia Program Aims to End the Loneliness of Depression
and Inspire Hope for Recovery
 Emmy-award winning actress Linda Dano steps into the spotlight today to
reveal her personal struggle with depression and announce she will spearhead
Support Partners, a national campaign that
encourages a support team approach to overcoming depression. By pairing
people living with depression with partners, the program aims to foster open
communication and create systems of support that eliminate isolation and
encourage recovery.
"Depression can cause feelings of isolation that are intensified by the
stigma associated with mental illness. As a result, many withdraw from
friends and family and do not seek help," said Amy Niles, president and CEO
of the National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC), co-sponsor of the
program with Eli Lilly and Company. "While it is vital to seek treatment
from a healthcare professional, finding support is crucial to becoming
well."
Support Partners offers a step-by-step approach
to building partnerships between people living with depression and those who
want to help them. Dano, most famous for her role as "Felicia Gallant" on
NBC's Another World, credits her healthcare professional and
friends as key players in helping her learn how to talk about her illness,
and to making her recovery more achievable. Through her personal experience,
she hopes to help others whose isolation from, or embarrassment about their
illness, may be unnecessarily prolonging or deepening depression's grip on
their lives.
"When I started battling depression, it was so much more than being sad
all the time - I didn't feel like me anymore. I had no joy in doing things I
used to love, like working and spending time with friends. I had trouble
sleeping, and had mysterious pains in my back that didn't go away," said
Dano." Educating myself and learning how to tell the people in my life how
to be there for me in a way that was comfortable for all of us, is helping
me work my way back."
Depression is a medical illness, like diabetes and heart disease, which
needs to be treated by a healthcare professional. Despite years of public
awareness about depression, many people are unable to recognize the
emotional and physical symptoms that are the hallmark of the illness.
Emotional symptoms can include sadness, hopelessness, irritability,
difficulty concentrating or loss of interest in activities that once were
enjoyable. Physical symptoms may surface as vague aches and pains, such as
back pain, digestive problems, fatigue or lack of energy, changes in sleep
patterns or appetite.
About Support Partners
A Support Partner is someone who is committed to helping a friend or loved
one with depression. He or she provides assistance as needed, builds on the
strengths of the person living with depression, and encourages actions that
allow recovery to happen.
Support can be given in many ways and is based on an individual's needs.
Some people may need their Support Partner to provide a safe haven for
discussing the struggles, triumphs and setbacks of depression, while others
may seek assistance with daily tasks that may be overwhelming at first.
Anyone can be a Support Partner, including family, friends, co-workers,
neighbors and religious/spiritual leaders.
Dano refers to her Support Partners as her "angels," people who
encouraged her and provided comfort in knowing that she is not in this
alone. "I cannot stress enough to those battling depression and those who
are watching someone struggle - please open the lines of communication -
support can make a world of difference," she said.
Support Partners Resources
The Support Partners program offers the following guidebooks, which should
be shared between a person with depression and his/her Support Partner. A
copy of the guidebooks can be obtained by visiting
www.DepressionHurts.com (downloadable copies are available at
www.healthywomen.org), or by calling 888-818-7988.
- Managing Your Depression - Written for
those battling depression, it contains information on recognizing the
emotional/physical symptoms of depression, how to identify a Support
Partner, tips for getting the conversation started, and ways to track
progress and recovery.
- Being a Support Partner -Tailored to meet
the needs of people who want to help someone with depression, but are
either unsure of how to start the conversation or how to offer help. It
provides practical advice and exercises that will help determine the
level of commitment and how to provide assistance.
- Shared Guidebook - Can be reviewed
together by both the person living with depression and his/her Support
Partner. Because each person experiences the illness differently, this
guide captures important personal information and provides a simple
approach to mapping out a wellness plan, which can define treatment and
recovery goals in partnership with your healthcare professional.
About Depression
Nearly 19 million Americans suffer from depression. It can happen to anyone
of any age, race or ethnic group, however women are nearly twice as likely
to experience depression as men. Although it is one of the most frequently
seen psychiatric disorders in the primary care setting, it often goes
undiagnosed or is under-treated. This may be because depressed patients
often present physical symptoms rather than emotional complaints. In one
study, nearly 70 percent of patients diagnosed with depression reported
physical symptoms as their chief reason for seeking help.
The goal of treatment is to help people with depression feel more like
themselves, so they can move forward with their lives. Depression symptoms
that don't go away completely can prevent people with depression from
getting fully well, and may increase the risk of symptoms coming back.
Nobody should settle for feeling only slightly better. With the right
treatment and support, recovering from depression is possible.
About Linda Dano
Emmy-award winning actress, talk-show host, designer and author, Linda Dano
has built a career that spans more than 30 years, but is, perhaps, best
known for her memorable roles in daytime television on Another World,
All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital. Ms.
Dano has also enjoyed a diverse career working in Hollywood in primetime
television and film, as host of Lifetime Television's Attitudes and
Lifetime NOW!, and as President of Strictly Personal, a fashion
consulting business that created the Linda Dano line of fashion accessories
for QVC. She will soon be seen in a limited run on CBS' Guiding Light
and in the title role of MAME, her first musical theater project opening in
June 2005.
About the National Women's Health Resource Center
The National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC) is the nation's leading
independent, nonprofit health information source for women. NWHRC addresses
a broad range of women's health concerns and issues and develops
comprehensive and objective health information based on the latest advances
in health research. NWHRC focuses on disease prevention and wellness, and
connects women with reliable health information sources. Its programs
include the development of national health campaigns, its bimonthly
newsletter, The National Women's Health Report, development and
distribution of consumer educational materials, and its Web site,
www.healthywomen.org.
About Lilly
Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing
portfolio of first-in-class and best-in-class pharmaceutical products by
applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from
collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered in
Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers - through medicines and
information - for some of the world's most urgent medical needs. Additional
information about Lilly is available at
www.lilly.com.
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Refer to:
Beverly Dame
Communications Director, National Women's Health Resource Center
(888) 406-9472 voice
bdame@healthywomen.org
Carole Witsken Puls
Global Product Communications, Eli Lilly and Company
(317) 277-1421 voice
(888) 431-8355 pager
pulsca@lilly.com
1. National Institute of
Mental Health. Depression Research at the National Institute of Mental
Health: Fact Sheet. Available at
www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/depresfact.cfm. Accessed May 2004.
2. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders. 4th ed., Text Revision. Washington DC: American
Psychiatric Association; 2000:345-428.
3. Kroenke K, et al. Am J Med. 1997; 103(5):339-347.
4. Simon GE, et al. N Engl J Med. 1999; 341(18):1329-1335.
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