Attitudes

TESS

When people know that there is a safe and effective treatment for depression, why is it that everybody does not seek help? It may be because of repression and denial. Even if you know that something is wrong, you do not seek help. It is a common human reaction even if it is inappropriate in this case. It means taking a big gamble:

• if you try to forget all the bad things.
• if you convince yourself that things are not that bad yet.
• if you hope that it will pass over by itself.
• if you believe that "time heals all wounds."
• if you think "tomorrow is another day."

Lack of knowledge

People with depression may not seek help because of a lack of knowledge about the illness. The less you know about depression and its course and treatment, the less the chances that you or those closest to you will receive help in time. In recent years, doctors and patients have done a great deal to inform people about mental illnesses and about depression in particular. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that negative attitudes towards depression are slowly disappearing. In newspapers and on TV, you often hear about well-known people talking about their depression.

They also often explain that they have either started working again or have assessed their situation and have decided to start looking for a less stressful job. More and more knowledge about depression is being discovered. One of the purposes of DepNet is to share this knowledge to you.

Prejudice

There are many prejudices concerning depression. Imagine that you have to tell your colleagues at work why you have been on leave for a long time. What would you rather tell them?

• That you injured yourself in a basketball game?
• That you injured yourself tripping over a doorstep?
• That you were suffering from a protracted but harmless infection?
• That you had stomach ulcers?
• That you have had a serious heart problem?
• That you were suffering from depression?

People think that mental illness is something very different from other illnesses. Perhaps we are ashamed that we have not "been strong enough" if we have had a mental illness. We try to hide our depression both at work and at home because we are afraid of what other people will think and say. Try to think about how many illnesses and injuries are caused by careless behaviour or thoughtless actions. Many illnesses and injuries are caused by:

• tobacco
• alcohol
• poor kitchen hygiene
• sports
• careless driving
• failure to follow safety precautions at work, etc.

Given all this, is it not rather strange that mental illness can cause such feelings of shame and guilt? With greater awareness and openness about depression, the illness will soon be seen as serious, but not anything to be embarrassed about.