Ep 11: Can science tell us who's most likely to develop depression?

Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses and currently affects 1 in 10 people in the UK. But what if science could tell us who’s most likely to develop depression? 

Researcher Helen and MQ ambassador John join host Hannah to explore this question in the latest episode of MQ Open Mind.

John first experienced depression age 5. Now 29, he describes what depression feels like for him, shares the ways he's learned to cope and questions the factors that might have made him more likely to experience depression. Helen is one of the lead researchers on MQ's IDEA project, which is using data from around the world to try and find the factors that put certain people at higher risk of depression. This could create a global tool to screen people for depression.

Together our guests debate if it would be a positive or negative experience to be told you're likely to develop depression, and question what support we need to have in place for this tool to really work.