Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting more than 264 million people of all ages. 

It’s also a leading contributor to the global burden of disease. And yet, depression research is still under-funded, people suffering with it are still stigmatized, and treatment options are shamefully limited.

The harsh reality is we live in a world where depression has become a public mental health crisis. Still don’t think it’s that bad? Consider these troubling facts:

  • Loss of interest in things you used to enjoy, change in weight, difficulty sleeping or oversleeping, energy loss, feelings of worthlessness, and thoughts of death or suicide are all possible symptoms of a depressive episode.
  • Women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression than men.
  • Suicide, which may result from depression, is the second leading cause of death in 15-29 year olds.
  • There is an interrelationship between depression and physical health. For example, depression can lead to cardiovascular disease and vice versa.
  • 3.2 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the U.S. have had at least one major depressive episode.
  • 76-85% of people in low and middle income countries go untreated for depression, despite the existence of effective psychological and pharmacological treatments.

The campaign

Recognizing the widespread mental health risk posed by depression, Halcyon launched a campaign to inform and activate people to address it. The goal: raise awareness and encourage people to take action on the issue of depression, whether it be in their own lives or supporting someone they know.

We put together a 10-question quiz that could simultaneously inform, challenge, and encourage people to take action to address societal depression. Our target audience was U.S. based, within the 18-65+ age range, and English-speaking. Facebook interest research was done to focus the audience further to ensure audience relevance would be high.

The results

This campaign was a big success! Relative to other Halcyon campaigns, users were significantly better informed on the issue of depression. The best part is that 96.59% of respondents who completed the quiz clicked on the post survey resource.

To sum it up:

  • 89% of respondents stated they care more about depression after what they learned from our quiz.
  • 89.9% of respondents stated they would be more inclined to change the way they live to address depression.
  • 94.59% of respondents who completed the survey accessed the post survey toolkit on how to manage depression.

What you can do

If you want to learn more about depression and be apart of the solution, just follow these simple steps:

  • Test your knowledge and take our quiz!
  • At the end of the quiz, check out the toolkit if you want to take action and handle your own depression or support others in their efforts.
  • Share! Tell your friends what you’ve learned, send them the quiz and help increase awareness about depression.
  • Donate! When you donate to The Halcyon Movement, you help us continue to bring awareness to major problems like depression with the hope of inspiring positive action.