I was going through old blog entries of mine, and came across this from 2007. I think it is worth repeating.

____

I've been mulling this script over in my head. Think of one of those 30-second commercial things.

Middle-aged woman talking to neighbor over coffee, cheerful pep-talk tone: Oh, come on, don't bother with that chemotherapy stuff. Your doctor is just trying to make money. There's nothing wrong with you. Just change your outlook on life, and decide you don't want to have cancer any more.

Voiceover: Very bad advice.

(Dissolve)

Wife talking to husband, pleading tone of voice, hurt look on face: Don't you realize how much it hurts me and the family every time you have a seizure? I feel neglected, and the children are embarrassed seeing you lose control. You have got to stop being epileptic.

Voiceover: Now, that's unreasonable!

(Dissolve)

Exasperated parent to adult offspring: I thought you had your diabetes under control. If you do, then why do you still have to take medicine for it, and check your blood sugar, and see your doctor? Life is too short for such nonsense. Snap out of it. Make up your mind you will have normal blood sugar, and that's that.

(Screen freezes, announcer walks out from behind screen to face camera.)

Announcer: The wrong advice could actually kill. We wouldn't think of telling someone with cancer, or epilepsy, or diabetes, to ignore available treatment and rely on willpower alone to fight the condition. Let's remember that the same applies to another medical illness, one that is called depression.

(Fade to black)

A slide appears center screen, which reads:

"Depression. It's an illness, not an attitude."

[hanners]

Ooooh, I so wish there was a 'Like' button for this. Though I think this could be applied to mental illness in general, not just depression.

[venusss]

You are partially right... but depression is about attitude too. I think that now too much "it's not your fault, it's a disease" is being spouted and some people use their illness as get out of everything free card.

I believe that depression is more spiritual than medical and often it can be helped by merely fixing the problem in your life and learning coping skill and new outlook. The strict medical model sets people from disappointment when they realize that medical treatment will not make them likable, hardworking, smart, outgoing and determined people they think they would be.

while the "cheer up" advice is too simplified and harmful, the "nothing with attitude, everything is chemical" approach is just as hurtful. It's more complex. Much much more.

[pgrundy]

I think depression is more complicated than is generally understood. I've spent years in therapy learning coping skills and reframing my past and so forth, and it did help. I also agree that taking positive action is an important part of living well. You have to make an effort. If a truck runs over you, a doctor can set your leg, but you still have to get out and walk, do your physical therapy, learn not to be afraid of trucks, and so forth. Same with depression.

That said, NOTHING ever made the difference in my life that the right meds make. It was like flipping a switch. I honestly didn't know what normal was until I got on the right medication, because I'd never felt normal.

So I guess in summary I'd say, I think both things are true--the 'it's a disease' outlook and the 'you have to try' outlook.

Also I think people should refrain from taking other people's inventory on most subjects, but especially on health matters. Too many people feel too free to pass judgment on others these days. It's rarely welcome or helpful.

Well, with any illness there are still things we have to do, to manage them. I'm diabetic, so I have to check my sugar, stay on the right diet, and take my insulin. If I ignored all that and then got sick, to say, "Well, I can't help being sick, I'm diabetic" is exactly the same in principle as the depression issue.

(I'm hoping "more spiritual than medical" doesn't have any religious implications, i.e. that it doesn't mean, "If you'd only get right with God, you wouldn't be depressed." I've actually been told that I'm not a real Christian because if I were, Jesus would heal me of my depressive illness.)

Depression is NOT my fault. It IS an illness. Does that mean I can't help it? No.

[venusss]

No, I am not religious. By spiritual I mean more a sense of detachment and feeling unrooted in the society. There are different approaches to deal with this... each is different, but I still think it has to be adressed on "what is good for my soul" level. It doesn't mean following any religious doctrine... more of following your heart.

I think religion played a role in the way that people had something to believe in, something to cling to... when people ditched religion in name of science, many became lost. Because many things we still don't have answer to. Humans are the only species aware of their mortality and without knowing what is after death... it can be pretty discorcening.

So it is not our fault we have been born into the modern world for which we aren't equiped fully. we have instincts that are useless in the world. we live much longer than some 200 years ago, enough to outlive our productivity...

I hope that makes sense.

I wrote a blog entry about my approach some time ago. http://venushalley1984.wordpress.com...7&preview=true

[pgrundy]

I have a friend who is also convinced that depression is spiritual. I don't talk to her about my depression anymore. She doesn't have depression, and even if she did have it, she isn't me. Her opinions are not helpful to me, although they seem to make HER feel better.

There's nothing wrong with believing these kinds of things and applying them to yourself. It's when people start to generalize and apply their ideas to everyone that it gets dicey.

[mgran]

That would be a very effective advert. I wish someone would make it... though whether the general public would take notice or not is another matter. I'm sick to death of hearing "depression is a selfish illness" and "pull yourself together."

[venusss]

Originally Posted by pgrundy

I have a friend who is also convinced that depression is spiritual. I don't talk to her about my depression anymore. She doesn't have depression, and even if she did have it, she isn't me. Her opinions are not helpful to me, although they seem to make HER feel better.

There's nothing wrong with believing these kinds of things and applying them to yourself. It's when people start to generalize and apply their ideas to everyone that it gets dicey.

well, and doesn't that go for other approaches as well? aren't they also generalizing?

I am sick of the "your brain is broken" cliche. I am NOT defected goods.

[online user]

Thanks so much for sharing that, lovebirdsflying! Very well done, and so true!

Originally Posted by VenusHalley

well, and doesn't that go for other approaches as well? aren't they also generalizing?

I am sick of the "your brain is broken" cliche. I am NOT defected goods.

Oh. I see where you're coming from. When the brain is involved, there are shaming issues attached. Even with children, notice that most playground taunts we hear them hurling at each other are some variation of "your brain doesn't work." Look at one word in particular that I hate very much, "retard."

To use epilepsy again as an example, when a friend was diagnosed as a child, her mother said to her, "No wonder the other kids won't play with you. There is something wrong with your brain." It too used to be considered a mental illness, and as such faced a heavy stigma. In previous generations, people kept epileptic relatives locked away in the attic and never acknowledged their existence to others. I think this is where a lot of ghost stories might have come from. Aunt Margaret would have a seizure, a visitor would notice the groans and thumping noises, and rather than tell the truth, the family would explain it with, "We have a ghost in the attic." The same was true for relatives with true mental illnesses--they were hidden away and not claimed.

I've heard it explained that the purpose for medication is to bring the patient up to the level of functioning where the therapy *can* work. From my angle, viewing depression as an illness on par with cancer, epilepsy or diabetes is actually empowering. I don't know about others, but there is definitely something wrong with my brain--like pgrundy, I've found medication helpful where therapy alone fell short--I don't see it as making me "defective" or "broken." It's a medical condition that needs management, that's all. People with epilepsy aren't "defective" or "broken" either. Grrr to the mother who said that to her daughter.

[venusss]

The thing is... I am proud of my brain. My brain got me my degree in International Relations/English language and literature. My brain is storage of a lot of information. It carries my creativity... how could it be wrong?

And for the rest... see my quote in my signature. Call me delusional, but there is a problem with the world. And maybe those who have problem with it and react to it are the better ones... I personally chose to deal with it differently, that's all. No offense meant. But I believe that little more humanity could fix more than meds. Of course, no doctor will prescribe you "being treated like a human, not as a number and working/spending machine; three times a day".

Today’s treatments are not good enough. Based on the results in other areas of medicine, we should be able to do better. Our Council workgroup told us that the path to finding new treatments is long, expensive, and essential. But even with current treatments, we can do much better if we learn how to tailor these treatments to the needs of each individual. Going forward, NIMH will be looking for clinical trials that are personalized (using predictive biomarkers) or preemptive (focused on early intervention) to maximize public health impact. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/director/index_4.shtml

Hello, LovebirdsFlying. I think you have a good point. There is a lot of controversy right now about the cause of depression and the efficacy of its treatment. The science and practice in the mental health arena has to get better.

I also think it is not very helpful when those who disagree jump on a soapbox to promote their views.

I've got a pretty decent brain myself, but I'm not too prideful to admit I have an illness that affects it. Just sayin'.