A shocking new CDC report shows that an unprecedented number of Americans are dealing with depression, yet most aren't receiving the care they require. From drowning teenagers to burnout adults, this epidemic mental health crisis runs deeper and more widespread than many think but what's behind this epidemic exactly? And why is treatment still beyond reach for so many? Depression has hit record high levels — reaching more than 1 in 8 Americans 12 years of age and older, says new information recently made public. The upward swing is alarming, yet most of those living with depression go untreated, which indicates not only a crisis of health but also a profound disconnect in access, awareness, and acceptance of mental health treatment.Between 2015 and 2023, the percentage of Americans who reported depressive symptoms has almost doubled — increasing from 7.3% to more than 13%, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reports. This increase is especially steep among teens and women, two cohorts that are facing intense psychological pressure in the aftermath of the pandemic.Teenagers aged 12 to 19 reported the highest levels of depression, with 19% reporting symptoms in the last two weeks—a dramatic number that underscores the teen mental health crisis. Women are also disproportionately impacted, with 16% reporting depression versus 10% of men, highlighting a major gender disparity in mental health outcomes. By comparison, people over 60 years reported having the lowest level of depression at a mere 9%, raising the potential linkage between life stability, age, or accessibility of coping tools and younger cohorts who may be bereft thereof.Teenage girls are particularly at risk — over 1 in 4 teen girls suffer from clinical depression, the largest affected group. At the same time, the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey gives a grim picture, 53% of high school girls said they often felt sad or hopeless — almost twice as many boys and 14 points more than a decade ago.Why Most People Aren't Getting Treated?And perhaps the most unsettling part of the CDC report is the huge treatment gap. Although 88% of those surveyed did admit that depression affected work, school, and social life — just around 40% were given any kind of counseling or therapy.Women are more likely than men to go to therapy (43% vs 33%), and they're over twice as likely to be on antidepressant medication. Yet most adolescents — while having higher levels of depression — are less likely to be on medication, creating an imbalance between need and treatment.Socioeconomic status also comes into play: individuals with higher incomes had lower rates of depression, and most likely had greater access to mental health care.How COVID-19 Changed Everything?The surge in depression tracks perfectly with the social and psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Disruption of routine, extended isolation, loss of loved ones, economic uncertainty, and uncertainty about the future converged into a perfect storm of mental tension.Additionally, shifts in how the NHANES survey was conducted during the pandemic could have impacted reporting, but experts say the increase in symptoms is too uniform across demographics to be an artifact of statistics.What Untreated Depression Does to the Body?Clinical depression isn’t just an emotional struggle; it fundamentally alters brain function and structure. Functional imaging studies reveal abnormalities in the ventral limbic system — a brain region responsible for regulating emotions and bodily functions.Untreated depression has been found to cause shrinkage in the hippocampus, thalamus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex, all of which are linked to mood and cognitive function. These alterations can exacerbate the severity of the condition over time, and recovery becomes more challenging.Also, depression left untreated disables neurotransmitter function — possibly derailing communication between areas of the brain. Whether or not this is an effect or cause of the illness is uncertain, but the result is the same: ongoing suffering without adequate medical or therapeutic intervention.Physical Cost of Ignoring Mental HealthClinical depression is a physical health hazard as well. Research indicates that individuals with major depression who are recovering from heart attacks or strokes have difficulty in adhering to medical instructions, controlling symptoms, and making treatment choices. These patients are also at increased risk of premature mortality within months of a cardiac condition.This highlights the need to consider mental health care as part of general health — not a luxury or an add-on.Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) — a widely used group of antidepressants — have been in the public eye recently. US Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made false claims that SSRIs are potentially more addictive than heroin, something not backed by existing evidence.Yet, figures from Truveta, a prominent health analytics company, indicate that trends in antidepressant prescriptions since 2018 have been stable, albeit for a brief surge in the early years of the pandemic. This is contrary to fears of overprescription and may indicate that dependency fears are exaggerated.The increasing mental health load — particularly among women and adolescents — necessitates immediate policy response. Stepping up access to affordable counselling, increasing school-based mental health clinics, combating stigma in hard-to-reach communities, and an investment in preventative care are necessary measures.