Study shows" Lawyers are the most depressed "

More lawyers suffer than any other profession Likelihood of depression linked
with age Insurance, accountanting among worst-hit .

LAWYERS, insurance brokers and accountants are among the most depressed
workers in Australia, according to a wide-ranging study.

Nearly 16 per cent of lawyers who responded to the survey displayed
“moderate or severe symptoms of depression” with nearly a third of those
using alcohol and drugs to deal with the problem.

Patent attorneys and insurance underwriters were the next most likely to
suffer from depression, with professional workers overall having higher levels
of symptoms than the general population.

The survey also found age to be a factor influencing depression.
“The younger professionals have higher rates of depressive symptoms than
older professionals,” the report by Beyond Blue and Beaton Consulting said.
Nearly 5 per cent of people working at actuarial firms, which have the seventh
highest proportion of workers suffering from depression, also used drugs and
alcohol to try to combat symptoms.
And about 9 per cent of architects also reported symptoms of depression.

President of the Law Society of NSW Geoff Dunlevy said he wasn't surprised
by the results of the study."For a long time, the Society has receieved anecdotal
evidence from solicitors regarding the prevalence of depression,'' Mr Dunlevy said.
"Law, unfortunately, is a high-pressure profession.''He said the Law Society
was implementing programs to help lawyers seek treatment.

The results of the Beyond Blue study were announced today by former
West Australian premier Geoff Gallop, who resigned in January 2006 to help
battle his own depression.
Beyond Blue is urging industry leaders to do more to help their workers.
More than 17,000 people responded to the survey with more than 7500 of
respondents working in the ten professions identified as being worst for
depression.

They are:
1. Law 2. Patent Attorney 3. Insurance underwriting 4. Accounting
5. IT services 6. Architectural 7. Actuarial Firm 8. Engineering
9. Consulting 10. Insurance brokering


By Mark Schliebs, April 23, 2007

WCV's: And these guys are defending our rights in the courts?????

This is seriously scary and just plain wrong! Who is policing this?

Many of us have already suffered at the hands of an incompetent
lawyers !