*As seen on CTV's W-Five.

Depression: Fighting the Dragon

Dreamfilm Productions
45 minutes • 2002
Also available on DVD

"I would work and work and do good stuff and then I would kind of fall off the face of the earth".
    – Karen Liberman, Head of the Ontario Mood Disorders Association

This documentary provides new insight into an illness that is growing with every generation—depression. One in ten people suffers from it, and the World Health Organization predicts that by the year 2020, depression will be second only to heart disease as the leading cause of premature death and disability worldwide.

Depression: Fighting the Dragon highlights the importance of early detection to attack the problem promptly and prevent future relapses. The program features personal stories from several people who are courageous in their struggle to hold the "dragon" at bay. Their stories are interspersed with comments on the condition and new research in brain mapping from a number of professionals, including Dr. Anthony Levitt of the Sunnybrook Centre in Toronto, Dr. Gary Hasey of McMaster University, Dr. Vivek Kusamakar of Dalhousie University and Dr. Helen Mayberg, a neuroscientist with the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto.

Unfortunately, the social stigma surrounding depression often causes patients to hide their illness from family and peers. Education and a growing social awareness are crucial to effectively addressing this potentially fatal illness. Michael Wilson, Canada's former Finance Minister, helps break the silence by sharing his own tragic experience with a son who suffered with depression that eventually led to suicide.

Subject(s): Isolation, Mental health, Psychology