The World Health Organisation records that there are over 264 million people who suffer from depression, and this covers all ages across the world. Depression comes in three levels mild, moderate, or severe and there are different ways to treat it, but what I want to know is, do you talk about it?
Today I have been sat at my computer listening to people talking about their struggles with depression. I have been reading different books and websites about how to treat it. I have listened to celebrities go through their daily routines about how they cope with depression. The one thing that really comes out of today's work is, why aren't we talking about it more? Why do we see depression as a bad thing to mention? At some point I am sure everyone will be affected by depression either personally or via someone they know, but if we do not mention it how can we help them or ourselves? What is the stigma about it? People seem to worry about other people's reactions if they mention a mental health problem. When we have a physical illness, we let people know what is going on and they give us the support, empathy, and sympathy that we need. But why do we feel that we won't get that support if we have a mental illness? Depression is an illness and one that sometimes needs medical interventions just like a physical illness. We need to talk about how it affects people in different ways and how we can help and support people. We need to realise that depression isn't something to be ashamed of and we should shy away from it, instead, we need to get it out in the open and work out what drives it and how to help people who suffer from it. I would be very interested to hear your views. Leave me a message below.