There’s a lot of talk about depression recently, especially in Europe. Depression doesn’t deserve bad press, and it is not helpful to think of depression (or any other unwanted mental state), as dysfunctional or blameworthy.
Depression is something we all do naturally. Some people are more prone to this and some get stuck with it. Getting out of depression is entirely possible for most people and most have more control over it than they realise (see below for more on this). For a start, if we all talk about depression as a natural phenomenon, it will make it less scary.
Many people with depression nevertheless function perfectly normally. Some don’t realise they are depressed and most won’t want to talk about it. If everybody who was depressed stayed at home and decided not to work then many things would grind to a halt.
To lash out at depression as the cause of something bad means perpetuating the ‘tragedy of ignorance’ that misleads so many societies and perpetuates attitudes the keep people from getting help should they find they are suffering from depression.
