The Stigma Around Depression

Depression is an important issue that we need to keep talking about. Photo by Flickr user Life Mental Health.

Note: trigger warning for suicide and depression.

Depression. Mental health. Therapy. Psychologist. Suicide.

Do these words make you feel uncomfortable?

For years, centuries even, society has stigmatized mental health, as much as the 20th century stigmatized homosexuality – as something to be ashamed of and kept secret. To this day, we can’t talk openly about depression and mental health issues, and that needs to change.

What is depression? Depression is a common but serious mental illness, characterized by sad or anxious feelings that are much deeper than “feeling blue.” Untreated, it can interfere with daily life.

Depression isn’t just something to be waved away as “a phase you’re going through.” In 2011, the American College Health Association found that about 30 percent of college students reported feeling “so depressed that it was difficult to function” at some time in the past year. Depression impairs your ability to make wholesome choices and affects your academic and social lives. It’s also a major factor contributing to suicide, the third leading cause of death in young adults aged 15 to 24.

Depression is serious. It is real. It happens to a great portion of college students, especially from all the stress we experience as we make hard life choices, deal with crippling debt, and grow into our roles as adults.

So why is it that we can’t just tell friends, “Hey, I’m depressed and I’ve been seeing a psychologist”? Or, “I think I might be depressed.” Why can’t we say to friends, “I think you should think about getting help” without them being offended?

College students especially tend to keep to themselves. We don’t like to confide our issues to others because hey, we’re adults now. I don’t need to rely on anyone else. I don’t want to trouble anyone with my problems. I don’t want them to think I’m “crazy.” I can deal with it myself.

Or so we think.

We ought to treat mental illness like any other disease. It is treatable and preventable, but left untreated can wreak havoc on the mind and body. We wouldn’t tell friends not to get cancer treated, so why should it be any different suggesting a friend get their depression treated?

Many colleges have cheap or free counseling services. Early prevention is key with depression, and talking to a doctor or mental health care professional is the first step to identifying the problem and finding a way to fix it.

I’m no expert on this matter, but as someone who’s recovered from strong depression, I think it’s important that we destigmatize mental illness and find a way to address it as an important issue, rather than fear it. I’d rather risk offending someone by encouraging them to find help than risk the far harsher cost of losing them to a debilitating and sometimes even lethal illness.