Two in Ten

[lillibet]

According to this article from NPR today, 20% of Americans suffer from a single health issue.

It's mental illness. Does that number seem high to you? In the EU, that number is around 40% according to other stories I've heard recently. But even at twenty percent, that means that at an average party of fifty people, ten of them have mental illness of some kind.

And yet we don't talk about it. We're ashamed. We feel alone. We worry that it may affect our careers and make other people think that we're weak, that we're crazy. We self-medicate rather than seeking treatment. In many cases, even among those insured, treatment is covered minimally, if at all. We may find that others don't understand--they don't know that they know many people with mental illnesses, they don't know what to think, or what to say. They might think that if we just kept busy, or weren't so self-centered, everything would be ok. They're wrong.

I have suffered from depression. I am lucky that mine was an acute, rather than chronic illness. It was triggered by fertility woes. I was drowning in my own pain. I was suicidal. Fortunately, I had a great deal of support and I got help quickly and eventually I did get pregnant and I got better. But I think that depression is a door that once opened, can never be shut tightly. Especially this fall, as I've been struggling with back pain, I've also noticed myself having episodes of depression again.

There are many kinds of mental illnesses. Maybe you have one of them. I'm sorry to hear that and I hope that you get the treatment you need. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But if you do, you can talk to me. We need to talk about it. We need to know that it's happening, to many of the people around us. We are not alone.

Comments

[muffyjo]

You're absolutely right. It's important to keep the conversation going and to keep educating. Excellent topic to raise.

[rmd]

for myself, i try to differentiate between depression that is at least partly situationally based and depression that is not. different things work for the two.

[dpolicar]

Yeah.

I have a few LJ posts about my experiences

[taura-g.livejournal.com]

From early on in life and I try to be open about the problems I suffer from now.

But yes, it is still much to much concealed, hidden, stowed away or swept under the rug.

Awareness is our most significant weapon against it.

[trowa-barton.livejournal.com]

Sadly. family upbringing can play a role in lack of disclosure. After all, if your parents are too poor to take you to the hospital unless you are practically dying, you wouldn't be too eager to seek medical attention.

[amenirdis.livejournal.com]

You have to ask yourself what is wrong with our culture if so many people are having so much trouble with it. Our culture itself must be seriously ill. Why have the freedoms we've attained in the last fifty years made us sicker? Why is it that the more we have the less happy we are? Something is wrong here.

Actually...

[taura-g.livejournal.com]

The belief is growing among that the problem was always there, it just wasn't talked about.

[joyeous.livejournal.com]

Wow. Thank you. I agree, it's nothing to be ashamed about, any more than a physical disease is anything to be ashamed about, yet some still are (the way people used to whisper "cancer" back in the day, as if you could catch it by saying it aloud). I hope more people can admit it, and more people will not judge them for it. I wrote a comment on my fb page a week or so ago that someone had said about me, "Don't be like Joye. She overshared and that's why no one wants to be around her." The thing I had shared with the person wasn't depression, but similarly, it was something personal and upsetting to me. And comments like that make you not want to share anything ever again. But I hope people like that are in the minority and most of us are accepting and *want* to know people's personal issues so that they can be more sensitive, if needs be.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

What a crappy thing to say! Trust me, it's not you--it's them!

[cz_unit]

I suffer from megalomania. But it's mostly under control.

[galestorm.livejournal.com]

*smirk*

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Yeah.

I remember what kept me from reaching to my parents when I was suffering from the worst depression of my life: thinking that they must have been terribly disappointed in me. And what kept me from reaching out to friends: not wanting them to know that I was such a mess, and comparing depressed-me to the person they used to know and finding me inferior. Stupid depression-brain.

[galestorm.livejournal.com]

Gaaah, what a mess -- not you, but that depression crap. Glad / Hope that you're feeling loads better now!!!

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, thank you, life is astronomically better now than it was then. It's funny, though, how my memories of that period are somewhat vague; it's as though that part of the disk got corrupted.

[galestorm.livejournal.com]

well, hey, that doesn't sound like a bad thing, then!!!

[galestorm.livejournal.com]

Mental illness is chilling, and not in a good way.

People seem to think that, if it's not obvious the way that physical disease stuff is, it should remain hidden and, by remaining hidden, it will go away. It might, or it might not, but not talking about it alone is not a cure, at frickin' all.

Having MS now, I also fall into a group of known depression 'recipients'.

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Depression: Worst. Gift. Evar.

*hugs*

[snoopymel.livejournal.com]

Not to be lucky #13, but my two cents on the subject. I think a lot of us suffer from depression cause we live in such a friggin' individualistic culture, where it really is "you can do it, on your own!" The American Way! Yes, we look at other cultures where the extended family is the norm, and it certainly looks quite suffocated, without any individual freedoms and no privacy whatsoever. But the positives - well, you're never really alone, there's a team mentality to solving life's problems, your neighbors actually give a big shit about how you're doing and will tell you so!

I guess the other way I look at it, is people from big families (Mel of the future) vs. small (Mel of the past). When it was just the 4 of us, well, no one calls, no one has a friggin' clue of what I do day-to-day, or how I'm doing, or how Jeremy's doing, or who we really are quite frankly. Then I went and got married and suddenly my FB comments are the subject of conversation to countless aunts and uncles and cousins that are now my relation too! It's kinda weird to get used to, but in a way, it's kind of heartwarming that so many people suddenly care. I'm sure it'll drive me crazy eventually, but there's something to be said by feeling surrounded by a strong community who really *listen* and care what the hell is going on in your life. Oh forget that analogy - how about the theater folk providing a strong community that help me get out of my dark episodes! Seriously! You guys get it more than any relative most of the time (outside of my husband of course!)

It sucks that seeking therapy and admitting depression is taboo. The fact of the matter, we SHOULD all speak about it more. Maybe we should make a T@F support group :) Then again, isn't that what LJ is?