Money really can't buy happiness, according to a new survey showing lawyers and other well-paid white-collar workers are more likely to sufferdepression.

    A national survey of more than 7500 professionals has found that almost one in 10 reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms.

    The legal profession had the worst result, with almost 16 per cent reporting symptoms of clinical depression. Next were accountants and insuranceunderwriters, both on 10 per cent.

    People in IT services, architecture and engineering also had depression rates above the average.

    The survey conducted by Beyondblue, an organizationdevoted to fighting depression, also showed that those under 30 had the highest rates of depression and were the most likely to "self-medicate" with drugs and alcohol.

    Beyondblue deputy chief executive and psychologist, Dr Nicole Highet, said the survey-the largest of its kind- was first to reveal the extent of the problem.

    "We often associate depression with the most socially disadvantaged (and) people under financial pressure, but here's a whole different group," Dr Highet said.

    She said while it was difficult to know exactly what made some groups more prone to depression, it was likely to be driven by work pressures.

    "It seems, with law in particular, there's a problem with employee expectations and their working reality," Dr Highet said.

    "People base their whole identities on being successful in their role and when it doesn't live up to expectations, and they fail to keep a work-life balance, that impacts on their mental health."

    Among female lawyers, the average age of first pregnancy was 39, "reflecting the all-or-nothing pressure that the sector places on individuals", she said.

    Law Institute of Victoria chief executive Michael Brett Young said the survey supported anecdotal evidence that depression was a growing problem.

    "Our message is no one should feel ashamed about being stressed," Mr Young said.

    "Ask for help from your colleagues rather than suffer in silence."

    看來金錢確實買不到快樂。一項最新調查表明，律師和其他一些高薪白領患抑郁癥的幾率較大。

    一項對7500多名職員開展的全國性調查發現，近十分之一的受訪者稱自己有中度至重度的抑郁癥癥狀。

    法律行業的情況更糟糕，近16%的人稱自己有臨床抑郁癥的癥狀。會計和保險承保人的這一比例位居其后，均為10%。

    IT服務、建筑和工程行業的人患抑郁癥的比例也高于平均水平。

    此外，這項由抗抑郁癥組織Beyondblue開展的調查表明，30歲以下的人患抑郁癥的比例最高，而且這一人群用藥物和酒精飲料進行“自行治療"的幾率最大。

    Beyondblue副首席執行官、心理學家妮可·海耶特博士說，該調查是此領域目前規模最大的一次，首次暴露了這個問題的嚴重程度。

    海耶特博士說：“我們常把抑郁癥與最弱勢的社會群體以及有經濟壓力的人聯系在一起，但事實上是另一個完全不同的人群存在這個問題。”

    她說，至于為什么有些人群更容易患抑郁癥還難以解釋，但這可能是由于工作壓力造成的。

    海耶特說：“員工的期望值與他們實際工作狀況的差別可能是個主要問題，尤其對于法律行業的人來說。”

    “人們將事業成功作為自己的首要目標，當實際情況達不到期望值時，他們就無法維持工作與生活的平衡了，這便會對他們的心理健康產生影響。”

    她說，女律師首次懷孕的平均年齡為39歲，“這反映了這個行業對從業者的壓力是一種極端的狀況，要么壓力很大，要么沒有壓力。”

    維克多利亞律師事務所的首席執行官邁克爾·布雷特·楊說，這項調查證明抑郁癥是個越來越嚴重的問題。

    楊說：“我們的觀點是，患抑郁癥的人不應該覺得這是一種羞恥。”

    “向你的同事求助，不要自己默默的承受。”