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<\/p>\nMore than one in five adults in parts of Kent are diagnosed with depression<\/p>\n
More than one in five adults in parts of Kent are diagnosed with depression<\/p>\n
The scale of Kent\u2019s mental health crisis is exposed in new official statistics revealing that more than one in five people are diagnosed with depression in part of our county.<\/p>\n
Figures published by the House of Commons Library show that Kent has some of the highest rates of adults with a diagnosis of depression in the South East.<\/p>\n
The Herne Bay and Sandwich parliamentary constituency has the highest proportion of residents diagnosed with depression in the region, with around one in five adult GP patients diagnosed with depression (22%).<\/p>\n
East Thanet has the South East\u2019s third-highest rate of depression (20%), while rates are also high in<\/p>\n
Folkestone and Hythe, Dover and Deal, Rochester and Strood, and Sittingbourne and Sheppey (all 19%).<\/p>\n
The top five Kent parliamentary constituencies with the highest rates of depression are:<\/p>\n
1. Herne Bay and Sandwich (21.58%)<\/p>\n
2. East Thanet (19.76%)<\/p>\n
3. Folkestone and Hythe (18.96%)<\/p>\n
4. Dover and Deal (18.88%)<\/p>\n
5. Rochester and Strood (18.76%)<\/p>\n
Neighbourhood data shows that diagnosis rates are even higher in smaller communities.<\/p>\n
In Newington, Thanet, the neighbourhood area with the highest rates in Kent, one in four adult residents have a formal diagnosis of depression recorded by their GP practice (2%).<\/p>\n
The top five neighbourhoods with the highest rates of depression in Kent are:<\/p>\n
1. Newington (25.4%)<\/p>\n
2. Herne Bay Parade (25.1%)<\/p>\n
3. Herne Bay South & Greenhill (23.5%)<\/p>\n
4. Herne & Broomfield (23.4%)<\/p>\n
5. Ramsgate Harbour (22.5%)<\/p>\n
In contrast, fewer than one in 10 adults have a formal diagnosis of depression in Joydens Wood, Dartford, the neighbourhood with the lowest rates in Kent (10%).<\/p>\n
You can see how high the rates of depression are where you live using our interactive map.<\/p>\n
Responding to the figures, Gemma Byrne, Policy and Influencing Manager at mental health charity Mind said: \u201cDepression might feel like you get less enjoyment from the things you previously enjoyed, it might make you want to withdraw from loved ones, you might have trouble eating, sleeping, and exercising, and you can feel isolated or hopeless.<\/p>\n
“You might also be thinking about ways to harm yourself or struggling with suicidal thoughts. These can all have a huge impact on your day-to-day life and make it difficult to manage tasks and self-care. It can affect your work, relationships, finances, and hobbies.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter what kind of symptoms you have, everyone deserves to be able to access the help that they need.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese figures show a significant number of people reporting poor mental health across the North West. While the exact reasons are unclear, we do know there are huge links between deprivation and mental wellbeing.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, we know that struggling financially can take a huge toll on your mental health and equally, struggling with your mental health can make it harder to manage your finances. That\u2019s why we need to see a shift in our mental health system towards better understanding of people’s needs upfront and providing care that is holistic, appropriate, and person-centred.\u201d<\/p>\n
The figures show the proportion of GP patients aged 18 and over diagnosed with depression.<\/p>\n
Mind has several helplines available for advice and support for anyone experiencing a mental health problem:<\/p>\n
Support Line: 0300 102 1234 (lines open 9am – 6pm, Monday \u2013 Friday, except bank holidays)Mind Infoline: 0300 123 3393 (lines open 9am – 6pm, Monday \u2013 Friday, except bank holidays)Welfare benefits line: 0300 222 5782 (lines open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays).Legal line: 0300 466 6463 (lines open 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except for bank holidays).<\/p>\n
Mind\u2019s Our online mental health community Side by Side is a safe space where anyone aged 18 and over with experience of a mental health problem can share their story, connect with others, access Mind\u2019s wider information and resources, and give support in return.<\/p>\n
Find out more at www.sidebyside.mind.org.uk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than one in five adults in parts of Kent are diagnosed with depression More than one in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":846286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[268346,12530,10846,167976,97,76898,260057,259,260,1624,111,240821,160532,252402],"class_list":["post-846285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-dartford","tag-deal","tag-dover","tag-folkestone","tag-health","tag-herne-bay","tag-iya-alert-county","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth","tag-nhs","tag-politics","tag-ramsgate","tag-sittingbourne","tag-thanet"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}