Oi, I'm in a philosophiocal mood again, never mind my ramblings

I think one of the problems is that the word "depression" is abused amongst absolutely everyone... "I feel depressed" or "I am depressed" are terms used without the real meaning added to it (that is, clinical depression). Medical doctors have minimal training in psychology, and many of them don't have any interest in it either, and are thereby often not better than the "man on the street" when it comes to seeing the difference between a real clinical depression and a normal down. Dangerous, if you ask me, but luckily the awareness of this is slowly rising.

Some people seems to underestimatewat they don't understand as a protections towards it instead of learning more about it. The attitude towards suicide and depression in general is horryfying, also amongst health personel!

In addition, it seems like "happy" is the only legal state to be in, so if you cannot describe yourself as "happy", you are "depressed". Some people seems to forget that the "depression" you feel when someone dies usually just are normal grief (of course, for some this turns into a malicious depression, but still we have something called grief that is normal). It's painful, but normal. If you wake up one morning and feel blue, you are not depressed... but many people say that they are anyway, or use a slangword to symbolize depression... when it's just a normal pattern of ups and downs.

This neglective way of using the term "depression" have lead to many fallicious beliefs about "depression". Sadly enough this is of course worst for those who really are clinical depressed, who then are feeling evenmore worthless since they can't even "get over it". I think though, that the person who says/implies "just get over it" is actually thinking of this normal moodswings, and not really "depression". Truly, if you wake up one morning feeling a bit cranky, and mutter and complain all day, and make everybody elses life a hell because you don't feel good, the phrase "get over it" has a certain value.

But, clinical depression is not something you just wake up with in the morning. It is something that develops over years. Of course it will then take years to "get over it" too. In addition, it is not something that just happens to develop with just anybody. It is a complex, intertwined bundle of different things, linked to social environment, developmental experiences, biological setups, personality traits and you name it... it takes a bit more than fresh air and proper eating and sleeping to cure it... though of course, for someone who has experienced a "depression" as a result of vitamine deficiency might believe that ALL "depressions" will be cured with three yellow pills bought in a drugstore.

We humans are so incredible (!) terrible when it comes to generalizing...

I have a list of terrible things said too, and I have just picked them from my family, friends and co students (!):

"Suicide is the most selfish act I know about. I don't get how people can be that mean" (my mother)

"He just have to stop smoking marijuana and then everything will get good again" (my brother in law)

My then 17 year old nephew felt he couldn't communicate with his parents and told me that he would like to go to a family psychologist to learn to communicate with them. This is my sisters (my nephews mother)response when I told her: "If he wants to do that he will have to tell me that himself"

"I believe in what the famous philosopher said: the depressed get so fond of being depressed, of the sorryness for themselves, that they can't get out of the self loving depression" (a co-student of mine, in a clinical psychology class. Luckily the professor didn't agree with this statement)

"She must be stupid, she can't do one sensibel thing. She's always been immature" (my mom about my bipolar aunt, when my aunt is in a (very) manic phase)

"Grown up people that ends up in jail deserves it, no matter what" (my brother in law's comment when I told about a patient of mine with 63 in intelligence (mentally retarded) who was in prison)

I could make it longer, but I don't want to. When I hear people uttering senseless things like this, I feel sorry for them, and the people around them. Imagine living in a world so overcrowded, and know so little about the different things concerning people around you? Imagine having to deal with human beings almost every day, and yet being so totally unaware of the different aspects of BEING a human being? Imagine not even knowing your own species better than that?

What a SAD SAD fate...

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!