WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In honor of World Mental Health Day on October 10th (10-10-12), the International Foundation for Research and Education on Depression (iFred) today released A TOP TEN LIST, providing ten actions anyone can take to provide hope to the world and the 121 million people living with depression. The Top Ten List was born as part of a larger effort to highlight World Mental Health Day, which is designated as October 10th, and further underscore this year's unique focus on Depression in particular. Media interest and attention are primary ways for the public to learn about October 10th - World Mental Health Day.
iFred, an international non-profit mental health awareness organization, works year-round and across the globe to help change the conversation around the disease of depression using positive messages and imagery, such as sunflowers and the color yellow, to help eradicate stigma surrounding the disease so that more people will freely seek needed treatment. Depression is a leading cause of disability and economic problems worldwide.
Meanwhile, iFred Founder, Kathryn Goetzke, is traveling to Geneva, Switzerland by invitation from the World Health Organization to help develop the Global Mental Health Action Plan for presentation at the 67th UN Assembly. And other key members of the iFred team are traveling to New York City as partners for the much-anticipated movie premiere of "Affair of the Heart," a documentary film based on Rick Springfield and his fans. The complete "10 on 10" list is a creative way to engage the world in rebranding depression with the color yellow, the sunflower, and the focus on Hope.
"While I wish I could be in NYC in person meeting with 'Jessie's Girl' Rick Springfield, I am honored and delighted to travel to Geneva to bring a unique marketing perspective to The World Health Organization as we further develop the Global Mental Health Action Plan. Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, yet less than 25% of people needing treatment, receive it, primarily due to stigma," said Kathryn Goetzke, President and Founder of iFred. "Our Top 10 for October 10th, World Mental Health Day, is a list focused on bringing the color yellow, the sunflower and famous faces to depression to share the positive success rate from treatment. I'm not sure they will let me in the World Health Organization board room with my yellow Skinny Jeans, but I sure am going to try."
The Top 10 list includes simple displays of support, such as decorating your home or office with sunflowers, purchasing sunflower seeds for the Field for Hope campaign, entering iFred's sunflower photography contest, wearing the yellow sunflower hope pin or the yellow sunflower skinny jeans. However it also includes actions to become more informed about depression by joining iFred's causes page on Facebook, educating oneself on how to get help, attending Rick Springfield's "An Affair of the Heart" campaign to learn about others' struggles and asking a celebrity to tweet about the campaign, so more people can be informed.
However, Goetzke notes, "the most powerful way to commemorate World Mental Health Day is to share your own story of hope when in a depressed state, to encourage others to shine light on depression too!"
iFred is a 501(c)(3) organization whose primary purpose in to reduce and eventually eradicate the stigma associated with depression. Depression is treatable, yet fewer than 25 percent of those experiencing a major depressive episode receive treatment, primarily due to the stigma and negative perception of depression. By "shining a positive light" on depression, iFred seeks to positively "rebrand" and "reposition" using the sunflower, the color yellow, and the focus on Hope so that someday 100 percent of depression patients are willing and able to get the help they need.