The misunderstanding of depression continues

I recently received an e-mail that I found a little upsetting. The sender wrote that depression is a western luxury and a side effect of the post-industrial revolution way of life. Although this is a commonly held belief, I’m not entirely sure of the accuracy of that belief.

He then went on to write a few sentences that I found especially offensive and wanted to share with you, simply to show how much stigma is still attached to depressive illness. He wrote:

Only in relatively recent history do we have so much free time that we don’t know what to do with ourselves, and we fill it by shouting at the TV because “uh oh!” John Travolta said something…. I think all this depression crap is just a symptom of us coming to terms with our new and ever-more-convenient way of life.

From his comments above, I feel like the writer, “just a guy”, assumes that depression sufferers sit around all day watching TV and feeling sorry for themselves. What really annoyed me is that his assumption couldn’t be farther from the truth. I lead a pretty busy life. With two young kids, I usually don’t get a chance to actually sit down until after they are in bed at night. In fact, I don’t really have any time to sit around and feel sorry for myself. But I do suffer from depression and I work hard to over come it.

Calling my illness “depression crap” really belittles the daily struggle I go through and really proves that those who have never suffered from depression truly don’t understand a thing about this illness.

After sitting on his e-mail for a few days and marvelling at the complete lack of understanding or compassion some people have, I decided to send a comment his way. I wrote:

Thanks for your comment. It’s a little harsh, but I find that people who have never suffered with depression before don’t truly understand that it is an illness and not just something to “get over”.

We do see a lot of illnesses now that we didn’t see back in the hunter gatherer days, such as cancer, HIV/aids and many chronic illnesses like MS. Perhaps those illnesses are crap and they should just get over it too?

What would you have said? What should we say when people call depression a load of crap? When will there be greater understanding about this illness?

Interestingly enough, I just did a quick Internet search to see how “new” of an illness depression really is and discovered that it has been a well documented illness throughout history.

Back in ancient times, people believed that supernatural forces caused mental illness and some tried to rid sufferers from the illness by cutting holes into the afflicted person’s head in order to let the evil spirits out. The Greeks later explained mental illness in terms of four major humors, or fluids in the body, believing that an excess of black bile in the body caused depression.

I wish the stigma and misunderstanding around depression would simply disappear. But since that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon, I’ll continue to do my part to help educate others about this illness.

Remember that there are lots of ways to help fight against the stigma of depression. Next time someone makes a joke about “crazy pills” or about someone “not taking their medication”, gently remind them that it’s not nice to mock people with illnesses. Perhaps your comment will help them understand that depression isn’t a joke.

PS – The picture above is titled On the Threshold of Eternity. In 1890, Vincent van Gogh painted this picture, which is seen by some as symbolizing the despair and hopelessness felt in depression. Although there are conflicting beliefs on whether or not van Gogh actually suffered from depression or another ailment, it is obvious from this painting that he had seen first hand the despair and hopelessness many depression sufferes experience on a daily baises.