Duxford Girl

In case you're wondering, I've been sick at home the last few days with a nasty stomach bug. That's why I've had time to read, watch TV and catch up on my blogging. Anyway, in between trips to the washroom I've been reading a book about depression. One of the things the doctor/author mentions is that most depression gets much worse than it has to but people are reluctant to bring their symptoms to their doctors. Let's see, if someone were to walk into their MD and say “I'm worthless, I hate my life, I wish I was dead and by the way there's the matter of my eating disorder...” they will likely receive medical attention including medication and psychiatric help. Here's what that gets them:

- A medical record that will now make everything in life more difficult. It can prevent the patient from various jobs and activities (flying for instance).
- The stigma of being someone who couldn't “handle it” among colleagues, friends and family.
- Difficulty in applying for insurance, etc.

Yeah, big shock people aren't running into their doctors to get the treatment they need. The great thing about mental illness is that unlike a severed arm, no one can tell that a person is suffering if they are able to hide it well. That doesn't mean the disease isn't doing plenty of damage.

Some people know they're ill but manage to ignore it. There's plenty of high functioning people in this world who are probably a step away from a nervous breakdown on any given day. Then there's a whole group of people who are in denial and their psychological symptoms manifest themselves as physical symptoms. In some people, this can be so severe that it shuts down their whole lives.

If we explore further the way society views mental illness, we can see that aside from the list above, there are many other reasons that people are willing to risk their health. Think about common sayings people toss around when a friend or family member is showing symptoms of depression.

“God never gives us more than we can handle.”
Really? Then how is it that people commit suicide? Did god make a mistake? No, this is typical Judea-Christian guilt that a lot of us have been victims to in our lives. Saying this to someone is like telling them that if they can't handle it than they're simply not trying enough. After all, god let his only son get nailed to a big chunk of wood. The least we could do is just suck it up.

“Time heals all wounds.”
Oh, right. Tell you what. Go grab a kitchen knife, slash open your thigh and then ignore it for several months. Then tell me how time is working for you. It's the same thing with mental wounds, they don't just go away. They fester and hurt and get worse without treatment.

“It's always darkest just before dawn.”
Tell that to people who live in the Yukon during the winter. A depressive episode is the same thing. The darkness doesn't go away. If a person is experiencing depression they do either one of two things; sleep way too much or not at all. Either way, dawn is irrelevant.

I realize that it's not easy to tell someone that you think they should get help for what appears to be a mental problem. The whole stigma of mental illness makes everything surrounding it difficult.

There are, of course, groups of dedicated professionals and organizations that are doing their best to change society's paranoia and malice about people with mental illness. I wish that I could be one of them but I think the likelihood that I could even get into pre-med let alone pass is laughable. Still, it's a fascinating field when you look at the numbers of people affected. There's so much more to do in the field and I wonder how many people take psychiatry as their speciality because they genuinely want to do research? My guess is that there are far more people specializing in it to make money.

I wouldn't have that problem. My undergrad was in music so making money has never been high on my priority list. Frankly, I make good money now and it has never done a thing to alleviate my depression.