Some people are capable of pulling themselves out of depression by their bootstraps alone. These people DO NOT have clinical depression, which results from a chemical imbalance in the brain and is often handed down genetically from generation to generation. It is a medical illness, not merely a state of mind. If you are one of the people who can shrug depression aside, it has little to do with guts and more to do with a healthy brain. To suggest otherwise trivialises the experience of the millions who truly suffer from mental illness, with little or no way to seek care.
To tell someone truly suffering from a mental illness such as depression to just "think happy" or just "get a hold" or just" be better" is akin to telling someone in the grips of an asthma attack to just "start breathing" or someone suffering from swine flu to just "not have a fever, and stop crapping yourself! Pull it together!"
Raise #depression awareness, please don't criticise or ostracise those who suffer
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I was called a "cat-fighter" for posting this in defense of depression sufferers. That is why I felt the need to re-post here, in the hopes that any awareness raised brings us one step closer to a day when "cat fighting" won't be necessary to ensure that everyone is aware of the seriousness and reality of depression.
As someone who takes medication daily to correct the chemical imbalance that threatens to take me out, I... more