Mental health: Conditions such as depression and schizophrenia still attract a high level of social stigma, a new survey has found.
It also found that Irish people rate anxiety above other conditions such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease.
The survey, conducted by Behaviour & Attitudes, asked people how mental health and other medical conditions rated in terms of perceived social stigma.
Seventy five per cent said schizophrenia, 60 per cent said depression and 42 per cent said anxiety rated above other conditions such Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and cancer.
Fifty-seven per cent of those surveyed who had experienced depression personally believed there was a lot or some social stigma attached to having the condition.
The report also found that more women than men claim to experience depression, with the ratio running at 2:1 for those who said they had experienced a period of depression.
Commenting on the survey, which questioned 1,200 people in the Republic, Kilkenny GP Dr Ronan Fawsitt said many people with mental conditions, particularly depression and anxiety, had great difficulty talking to their GPs and even their family about the problem.
He said the survey had found that 64 per cent said they would find depression difficult to discuss with a doctor or other health professional.
The study also revealed that 62 per cent said they would be embarrassed to talk to a friend about the condition.
"It is a question of communication and breaking down barriers," he said.
The survey also found that people see depression in particular as a very disruptive condition, ranking it as more disruptive than more serious conditions such as heart disease, arthritis and diabetes - a finding which surprised Dr Fawsitt.
He said dealing with depression was forming an increasing part of doctors' work. In his own practice, it could be up to 50 per cent of his caseload at times.
He called for more trained counsellors to be attached to GP practices with expertise in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
Dr Fawsitt said people should also be encouraged to go to self-help groups such as GROW.
Prof Timothy Dinan, consultant psychiatrist, Cork University Hospital, said an estimated 300,000 people had depression in Ireland.
He said depression was "not a life sentence, it's a medical condition like any other and can be treated as such".
The survey was commissioned by Lundbeck, a pharmaceutical company.