As many reasons as there are to enjoy life in the Roaring Fork Valley, many of the characteristics of living in a resort area can also lead to depression and even suicide.

That is what a group of about 60 local mental health professionals discussed after a keynote address on depression during the Aspen Valley Medical Foundation’s annual mental health convocation on Thursday.

The high cost of living, increasing stratification of local society and a sense of isolation in a transient community are only some of the precipitating factors for depression in an otherwise beautiful place, participants determined. And because of the still-rural nature of Pitkin County, there is a lack of facilities and funding to treat the severely depressed, even though there seems to be no lack of therapists.

Dr. Patricia Hill called the unique local situation “the end-of-the-rainbow syndrome.” People seeking that perfect place to live come to live here and then find they have nowhere better to go. “It attracts independent people who sometimes get a little isolated,” she said.

Many locals are compulsive exercisers who can easily get depressed if they are injured or don’t achieve the athletic results they want. Others subscribe to Aspen as a place people go to party, drink or use drugs excessively. And when they encounter a problem, many people who live in this area don’t have the usual family support system found elsewhere. Because of the transient nature of our population, friends tend to move away, so those who remain can become isolated and lonely.

Pitkin County has the highest rate of suicide in Colorado, which in turn has one of the highest rates of suicide in the country.

Practitioners discussed how the affluent resort nature of Aspen presents even further complications. With wildly different levels of wealth that cause various groups to become increasingly isolated from one another, some working locals might look upon the affluent with envy, not only for their money, but for the time they have to enjoy the outdoors and culture, while many locals work multiple jobs and still have a hard time getting by.

“People find that they’re making a lot of money [in season], and are still not really happy,” said one practitioner, “and they’re exhausted because they’re working so hard.”

That habit of comparing oneself to others who seem to have it better is particularly troubling for the local youth, who go to school with each other and could be embarrassed about their parents for not achieving enough.

Eating disorders and the aggravating commute were also identified as potential sources of depression, and no one knows to what level the valley’s Hispanic population is depressed because so few therapists are bilingual and able to reach that population.

And in addition to all of the local triggers, “recently, people have been depressed about the economy, even if it has nothing to do with their personal wealth,” said local psychologist Martin Manosevitz, who added that the same feeling is shared by the family who can’t participate in the Sotheby’s auction this year and the family who can’t take the kids out for a nice dinner.

Luckily, a medical center devoted to diagnosing, treating and studying depression is opening in Aurora in September, and many of the attendees of Thursday’s convocation pushed for as much local interaction with that center as possible.

Dr. Christopher Schneck, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, is one of the team working on opening the Colorado Depression Center. Schneck, an expert in bipolar disorders, also gave the keynote address, which highlighted some of the statistics, causes and treatment of depression.

An ancient disease first referred to in 400 B.C., depression occurs in 15 percent to 17 percent of the population at some point in their lifetimes, said Schneck, who added that only 50 percent of those affected by depression are treated and only about 20 percent of those are treated adequately.

Depression is more prevalent in women, people ages 18-44 and those who are unemployed, separated or divorced. Depression is also the No. 1 cause of years lost to disability. Suicide is the second leading cause of death of 25- to 34-year-olds, and the suicide rate in the U.S. is actually twice the homicide rate.

Even more concerning is the lack of in-depth knowledge about the causes and treatment of depression. In one of the most comprehensive studies ever done on treating depression with medication, only one-third of the patients improved. And while chronic stress appears to be one of the leading triggers of depression, scientists don’t know exactly how depression manifests itself physiologically in the brain. That lack of knowledge, and the uniqueness of each case, means there is no specific formula to treat it — generally each practitioner will experiment with whatever mix of medication and therapy seems to work for a particular patient.

Noting that no studies exist to show the effectiveness of antidepressants on bipolar patients, Schneck said, “That’s pretty depressing.”

On the positive side, Colorado is only the second state to form a depression center in the National Network of Depression Centers, a relatively new concept that experts in the field hope will be the correct prescription for advancing knowledge of and solutions for depression. And there is a proposal on the table to build a new CU medical school campus in Grand Junction that would graduate experts in the psychiatric field, some of whom would theoretically move to the valley and increase the level of expertise here.

For local therapists and counselors who lack many of the more advanced resources found in a larger urban area, both of those resources will be a boon, but only if they communicate and collaborate with the Roaring Fork Valley-based practitioners.

At the conclusion of Thursday’s convocation, AVMF Executive Director Kris Marsh called for volunteers for a subcommittee to brainstorm ideas and develop a partnership proposal.

This is only the second year the convocation is being held specifically for local mental health practitioners — giving them a forum to get together and exchange and advance ideas — and several attendees expressed their pleasure at having such a forum. At last year’s convocation, attendees lamented the lack of a consolidated list of all local mental health resources. This year such a directory was presented to everyone who attended.

lutz@aspendailynews.com