Yeah, the "less serious" label REALLY bothers me. The facts just don't back it up. It is said the depressions are even worse. And hello! We spend far more time there! (Speaking in overall stats.) Suicide rates are higher. How on earth can that be "less serious"?! Good grief!

I've got a theory about it. Mania, especially severe, is more "public" so to speak. Out and about, more obvious to a casual observer, sometimes disruptive to social order... like that. So isn't it "obvious" that it's worse? No. Most people just don't see severe depression. We tend to be very isolating for starters. It's out of the public eye. Almost invisible except perhaps to people who live with us. "Out of sight, out of mind" doesn't make something less serious.

Information sources really have no excuse for perpetuating this thinking. What's more, it plays into the general public's perception that "everyone gets depressed" because it's a word in common parlance that does not begin to describe severe states. So again, people get dismissive of it because they don't understand that. It's no wonder really that this state of affairs and mindset exists. Problem is, it's not true.