What to do about depression? Self-help recommendations of the public

While help-seeking and treatment preferences for depression have been assessed in a number of population studies, little is known about the public's self-help beliefs.

To explore public beliefs about self-help actions to be taken in case of depression.

In spring 2009, a population-based survey was conducted by telephone in the city of Vienna. A fully structured interview was carried out, which began with the presentation of a vignette describing a case of depression. Subsequently, respondents were asked to indicate to what extent they would recommend various self-help actions.

Among the self-help options proposed, confiding in a close friend or someone in the family were most frequently recommended. Apart from that, a variety of interpersonal actions (socializing with others, joining a self-help group), psychological methods (thinking positively), lifestyle changes (engaging in sport, listening to music, going on vacation, reading a good book) and dietary methods (eating healthy food) were endorsed by over half of respondents. While women were more ready to recommend self-help actions, the better educated were less enthusiastic about them.

As only some of the self-help measures endorsed by the public are evidence based, more research is needed before promulgating their use.