Listen Up, Speak Up
Depression is Real
I am excited about the efforts happening to open up conversations about depression and mental illness. Regular readers of Pamwrites know this is important to me for many reasons, including my own experience. My compilation of the anthology, Done Darkness, was intended to help shine more light on people’s experiences of depression, and surviving it. From conversations, emails, letters and reviews, I know it has done that for many folks and I hope it will continue to do so as more people find it. I firmly believe that we all must work hard to continue to chip away at the stigma of all mental illnesses.
The fact that Prince Harry and William, The Duke of Cambridge, are opening up about mental health issues is fantastic for everyone, but especially young men, who often seem the most resistant to seeking treatment. With the Duchess of Cambridge, the brothers have embarked on a mental health campaign called Heads Together which is working hard to bring mental health issues into the open. In a recent conversation between The Duke and Lady Gaga, she “said she felt people with mental health challenges were ‘not hiding anymore’ and the The Duke added that it is time ‘to feel normal about mental health — it’s the same as physical health’ and that good conversations can ‘really make such a difference.” (From Heads Together)
We don’t have leaders working as hard in the States toward breaking down barriers about mental illness. No, unfortunately, right now we have lots of reports about the likelihood that we have a leader with an untreated mental illness. :-(
But there are people here, trying, constantly trying, to shed light on depression. Recently, I’ve discovered a podcast doing just that, Giving Voice to Depression, run by two sisters, Bridget and Terry. I highly, highly recommend this podcast.
Two questions that I hear about depression often that really bother me are:
- Is clinical depression a real thing? (So, is it weakness? Do people with it just not have the fortitude of others to overcome normal sadness and move on?)
- What’s the difference between sadness and clinical depression? (The question can be asked in such a way that it’s clear that the asker doesn’t think there is a difference.)
A recent episode of Giving Voice brings in three mental healthcare professionals to discuss these very questions. These experts are Dr. Robert Duff, psychologist and best-selling author of the Hardcore Self Help Book Series (which includes books I want to read: F**K Depression and F**K Anxiety); Dr. Margaret Rutherford, psychologist and mental health columnist and frequent contributor for many popular outlets; and, Madhukar Trivedi, M.D., Professor and Betty Jo Hay Distinguished Chair in Mental Health at the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX.
In just over 11 minutes, this podcast helps give language to folks with depression who may have a hard time communicating about their experiences. These experts are quite clear that clinical depression is a real disease, and I especially appreciated Dr. Duff’s description of it as similar to a parasite.
11 minutes. That’s all. Listen. Listen whether you have experienced depression, whether you know and love someone who has it, whether you don’t believe it’s real. Listen and learn.
And finally, as the sisters say at the end of the podcast:
If you’re hurting, speak up. If someone else is hurting, listen up.
Sign up for email updates if you don’t want to miss more posts.
You can help this story reach more readers by pressing the ❤ button in the left hand column below the word share. You can also share with your Facebook & Twitter followers there if you so desire. Many thanks for sharing the love — those ❤s help readers find us. xxoo
