How come we don’t treat depression seriously?
There is a great deal of intellectualism associated with depression. As Hemingway wrote, “Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.” Depression is treated, often times, as a right of passage- something that implies growing from children’s television to the “real life”. Those who suffer from depression are almost implicitly seen as better artists or poets. Depression is ennobling. This is not the case with any other disease, mental or otherwise, that I know of.
Depression is debilitating. It has biological and psychological effects. It is linked to genetics. It has degenerative effects on the brain. How come we do not treat it like a disease- on the same ground as AIDS or diabeties, or even ADD? How come a serious ailment is seen as a poetic license?
To the answer that brought up that antidepressants are widely perscribed-
There is a weird dynamic going on here that I didn’t really get to. While people see the poetic depression of Hemingway as ennobling, they see it as trivial and cosmetic in a different context. In the wonder-years of Prozac, it was perscribed like candy- another indication that we aren’t giving depression the attention it deserves. Depression- especially in adolescence (and younger!) is often seen as a phase that will remedy itself with the passage of time and can safely be disregarded with medicine. This is simply the distinction between “teenage depression” and “adult depression”. A ridiculous world it is that passes this as anything short of sadistic.
Cos people don’t take depression seriously……they assume you are just unhappy when you admit you are depressed. They don’t seem to understand you are actually sick and suffering
I have no idea why it would be seen as a poetic license. Except for the fact that maybe someone who is intelligent enough to realize what is truly going on in our world, sees it depressively. All the suffering and poverty, and mis-treating of animals tends to upset certain people who care to open their eyes and realize.
With diseases, doctors do objective tests like blood tests and x-rays. What tests do you have that prove a biological basis for depression? Yes, the feelings are real, but psychiatry has produced no test to objectively determine that this is a disease. I wouldn’t trust a doctor who just sat down with me and talked and then said, “you have cancer, you begin chemo tommorow.” There would have to be scientifically-based tests done before I’d subject myself to that. I think like the person above me said, that many things can cause you to feel depressed including just thinking about the state the world is in these days. That does not, however, mean you have a chemical imbalance in your brain. Feelings really shouldn’t be medicalized.
There is a lot of ignorance out there. Also a lot of people have the attitude that depression is something you can just snap out of or straighten yourself out. I rarely praise a TV ad, but the one for the anti-depressant that shows the receptors in the brain I hope will go a long way to waking people up about it. I actually know one person (my stepson) who refused to get help for his depression because he felt that artists have to suffer! Of course, this was just his way of refusing to change. Sometimes people will suffer for years without being willing to change.
We assume depression as parts of our life. Happines sometimes is debilitating too. It also gives our biological and psicological affects. But if we don’t handle depression seriously, seriosly we can commit suicide for severe case. Whatever it goes, we have to be intelligent to control our mood or mood stabilizer.
depression is the brain’s way of saying “okay, ive had enough” we dont treat it like a disease because a disease is usually brought upon by a situation that the victim cannot control. this is the same reason alcohol addiction isnt a disease. the “victim” makes the decision to take that drink. in depression, the victim’s situation has deteriorated so much that the brain cant handle it. but the thing is, if the victim had tried to fix their situation beforehand, they wouldnt be depressed. saying depression is a disease is like saying “screw you” to every cancer and malaria patient in the world.
but the thing about it is, its an emotional issue that usually occurs in the teen years, when everyone is either really depressed, or trying their best to be.
also, how do you propose we treat depression? just hand random sad people pills? if we make them think that there is something wrong with them, then they will become more depressed, and will continue coming back for more and more pills until they are hooked. which will make them more depressed, and so on.
we dont take depression seriously because more times than not, they are just pretending to get some more attention. should we help them? yes. but it is not a disease.
Where have you been hiding? More people are prescribed antidepressants than any other prescription drug. That is a Fact!
I am going to ‘star’ this question because – rarely- have I seen a better thought out, worded question on here – obviously from someone who knows what they are talking about.
I have argued this corner for many years and have concluded that as long as people who are having ‘an off day’ say that they are DEPRESSED – and then bounce back the next day to thier usual chirpy self – depression and all associated symptoms will never be taken seriously.
I think perhaps because those in the media spotlight talk of suffering from depression – and in the past the artists of the day, be they poets or painters – were and are the ones to speak openly about it – it is therefore seen almost romantically – bearing little or no resemblance to the awful and horrid ailment that it is.
Here in the UK – an actor, writer and all round ‘personality’ by the name of STEPHEN FRY has written and spoken loud about his fight with Bi-polar and depression. He is really beginning to make in-roads with the public perception of the illness, taking it out of the realms of fantasy and into how it affects every aspect of living for many people.
Generally though I believe it is still seen as either a fakers ailment or a hysterical one, and sadly it is often greeted with shouts of ‘pull yourself together’.
It doesn’t help the cause when you get drunken, drugged over indulgent ‘celebrities’ making much publicised trips into re-hab (ROBBIE WILLIAMS) only to walk out once they have been dried out AGAIN and scream that the excesses of stardom have driven them to depression – again – reinforcing the stereotype ‘artist suffering for his art’. STUFF AND NONSENSE!
Again – I applaud you for this valid and true portrait of this ghastly illness – and I hope that if you do suffer from it that you either recover very quickly or at least have a long and happy remisson!
People stigmatise it a lot and are usually in denial about it. Sad because it is treatable.