Myth: Depression is a character flaw and is a sign of weakness.
Fact: Depression
has nothing to do with strength of one’s character. It happens due to a complex
interplay of biological and environmental risk factors and is a treatable
condition like any other physical illness. With all the attached stigma, seeking
help for depression is a sign of courage and not weakness.
Myth:
Depression
is just “having the blues.”
Fact: Depression is more just feeling sad or down in the dumps.
The sadness is more persistent and pervades your day-to-day life and it, along
with other symptoms of depression, makes it harder for you to function at your normal
levels.
Myth:
You
can just “snap out” of depression.
Fact:
Telling people with depression to just “snap out of it” never helps as
depression, like other physical illnesses, takes time to heal. While treated
episodes of depression lasts about three months, untreated depression may last
from 6 to 13 months.
Myth:
Depression
affects only women.
Fact:
Although
women are 1.5 to 3 times more likely to get depressed compared to men, men are
not immune from it. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH),
men may experience depression differently than women. While feelings of
sadness, worthlessness, and excessive guilt are more common in women, men
usually show signs and symptoms of extreme tiredness, irritability, lack of
interest in once-pleasurable activities, and difficulty sleeping. In addition,
men with depression are more prone for alcohol or drug use. Men may also avoid
talking about their depression with relatives or friends and may turn to work
as an escape, but ultimately becoming more frustrated, discouraged, and angry.
Although suicide attempts are more common in women, more men than women
actually die due to this reason in the United States.
Myth:
Depression only affects adults.
Fact:
Depression does affect children and teenagers.
The National Comorbidity Study found that 11.7% of the 10,123 surveyed
adolescents aged 13-18 met diagnosis of either major depression or dysthymia, a form of chronic low grade depression. Of note, the rate of depressive disorders doubled in
the 17-18 year age group compared to 13-14 age group. In contrast to adults, children
and adolescents, when depressed, may experience irritability rather than
sadness. While not all teenagers who are moody should be investigated for
depression, but if the mood symptoms are persistent and exist with other symptoms
suggestive of depression, then it may prudent to rule out depression.
Myth:
If
you have depression in your family, you will also develop depression.
Fact:
Depression, like diabetes and high blood
pressure, is a heritable illness. However, genes alone account for about 37% of
causality in depression and the rest is non-genetic, including environmental
and physical factors.
Myth:
Depression is only for losers or those who
feel sorry for themselves.
Fact:
Depression is an equal opportunity illness and cuts across nationalities,
education level, social status, occupation, race, and culture. Celebrities,
politicians, scientists, artists, and other professionals who have been
successful in their respective fields have dealt with depression.
Myth:
Depression
is a life-long illness.
Fact:
Most
individuals with depression do eventually improve. Recovery begins within three
months for about 40% of people with depression and within one year for about
80%. In one study, only 17% of people with depression
had symptoms of depression when followed up at 39 months. While majority improve, some also tend to get recurrent episodes of depression.
Myth:
Depression
can be diagnosed by a medical test.
Fact:
Unfortunately,
there is no medical test to diagnose depression like there are for diabetes or
other medical conditions. Whereas you can try to self-diagnose depression using
some internet-based rating scales, a formal diagnosis should best be left to a
professional. This is important because a professional can rule out other psychological
or medical conditions that can mimic depression.
Myth:
Depression
only responds to medications.
Fact: Over the last few decades, the trend in print
media has been to present depression as a bio-medical disorder rather than an
entity caused by a variety of reasons. This in turn
has perpetuated a belief that the antidepressants may be the only effective way
of treating depression. While antidepressants alone may be more effective in
more severe forms of depression, both cognitive-behavioral therapy and
interpersonal psychotherapy are effective by themselves in mild or moderate
depression. In addition, mindfulness-based
cognitive therapy helps prevent future episodes of depression in people with
multiple depressive episodes. A caveat when choosing
therapy as a treatment modality for depression is to seek an expert trained in depression-focused
therapy as there a lot of other therapies that are not helpful for depression.
To learn more about evidence-based
self-management techniques that are proven to work for depression, check out
Dr. Duggal's Author
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