This year’s session on depression was a first at Davos. The room was packed and many people had to be turned away. It included a rich panel discussion from a diverse group of expert panelists from different disciplines.
Dr. Tom Insel, Director of  National Institute of Mental Health presented several interesting facts. Depression is a very pervasive disease that affects 6% of the population in any given year. More people in the US die from suicides, usually caused by depression, than from car accidents.  The economic costs, including productivity losses, is by far the highest among all chronic disease.  A company that has 20,000 employees is likely to have a staggering 1,200 employees who are afflicted at any given time.  The fact that the session was completely full and there was a lobby full of people waiting to get in suggests that this is a topic that effects many, and that is is a topic people want to learn more about.
The good news is that this is  a highly treatable condition which typically has a biological basis that is not completely understood. Many well known  artists, CEO’s and political leaders  have had severe and recurring episodes and yet were able to overcome them and go on to lead highly successful lives.The bad news is that It can be a very debilitating condition that, if untreated,  affects all important aspects of  productive life. Clinical depression must be distinguished from  temporary episodes of grief, bad mood or general state of funk that people refer to when that say ‘I am depressed.  Yet  a large percentage of sufferers go untreated. Reasons for under treatment include dismissing the condition as not serious, resistance to take medications because IT only masks the symptoms  and the general stigma associated with mental illness.
The inclusion of this session the the 2007 annual  conference is highly commended given depression’s tremendous human cost and its large impact on productivity in the workplace,  I hope the session will be enlarged in the future, not only in terms of venue but also in terms of content.  In particular, adding successful  people who have suffered from depression in the past, and have the courage to talk about it, can send a very powerful message about the misguided stereotypes, as well as a message of hope about the ability to overcome the condition. It is one other way the WEF can further its mission of improving the state of the world.