Written by Dr Harry Barry, “Flagging the Problem: A New Approach to Mental Health”.

I found a review of this book by its author in the Sunday Independent yesterday (1 April 2007).

I am glad to see a doctor has written, and got published, a book on depression and alcohol addiction. (Liberties Press E19.99).

He says:

“We all, parents, teachers, employers and employees, medical personnel, media, the judicial system and so on, have a responsibility to educate ourselves about depression, the warning signs of suicide, and to reflect long and hard about the role of alcohol in modern Ireland…”

Well said, Dr Harry Barry.

Reading between the lines, it may be that his son Niall, a 19-year old, committed suicide.

If anyone reads this book before me, please let me know what you think of it.

It’ll be interesting to compare it with “Depression - an emotion not a disease” by Dr Michael Corry & Dr Aine Tubridy and “Beyond Prozac” by Dr Terry Lynch.

While I’m at it, let me record last Wednesday’s Irish Examiner’s feature “Prozac nation” (28 March). The editorial began:

“As the pressures of life intensify in Ireland today, growing numbers of people are turning to tranquillisers, sedatives and anti-depressant drugs for stress relief….”

And included:

“…The toll of marital separation and divorce is also plain to see as 42% of divorced people and 26% of those separated resort to such drugs to calm their anxieties…”

Finally, another bit of bad news came in: the wife of a guy my brother was at school with, took her own life last week.

More evidence that depression is a deadly problem.