In my work, I often hear the defence insurance company argue “It’s just depression. A few meetings with a counselor and he’ll be fine.” Ignorant as that is, it’s better than the even more ignorant and more common: “Depression? Is he just a sissy? Is she just being hysterical? Suck it up, buttercup”. Worst of all: “Depression? That’s not a real illness, he’s just faking”.

Health Canada reports that about 11% of men and 16% of women will experience major depression. About 60% of people who commit suicide suffer depression when they do so. Depression is a permanent mental illness. It may fade for a time. But any major depression makes one more vulnerable to future major depressive episodes. It is a disease which remits and recurs. Untreated, its usual outcome is death.

One of the biggest problems of depression is that people don’t get treatment.  We stigmatize, even ridicule people who seem depressed, or who say they are depressed.  We accuse them of not having the moral fiber to pull themselves out of depression.  That is just stupid.  We don’t accuse people with diabetes of not having the gumption to fix themselves.  Nor do we expect nearsighted people to see “if they would just try a little harder”.

Let’s see: You’re in a car crash.  You’re hurt so bad you can’t work.  ICBC refuses to pay the income loss and medical benefits YOU PAID FOR.  They call you a liar and a fraud.  Maybe your spouse or kids were hurt too.  You go through all the “if only’s”: “If only I hadn’t had that cup of coffee at home, I would’ve left the house 5 minutes earlier and wouldn’t have been in that intersection when that guy went through on the red”.  Broke.  Hurt.  Sleepless.  The people who were supposed to help you, accuse you of fraud.  No wonder you get depressed.

Depression doesn’t show.  It’s not a broken leg, or spouting blood.  Untreated depression gets worse.  Its natural progression ends in death.  It’s not “just” depression.  It’s a devastating illness.  Few people will recognize you are depressed, so they don’t offer help.  Or if they do recognize it, most are embarrassed.  It’s MENTAL ILLNESS.  Maybe it’s contagious…  They avoid you.  No wonder you get more depressed.

Depression can last long after the physical injury has healed.  Untreated, it usually does.

Depression destroys self-respect: the depressed feel ashamed for being depressed.  Being ridiculed by a defence adjustor or defence lawyer doesn’t help.

Here’s a powerful video to help explain what depression feels like.

Depression is treatable.  It needs drugs and therapy.  Just feeling sorry for a depressed person isn’t enough.  The next time you see a person suffering from depression: HELP THEM.  Offer some compassion.  Tell them you care.  It may be enough to hold them together until they can get professional treatment.  Then help them find and go to treatment.

And the next time you hear someone disparage a victim of depression with “it’s just depression” or anything like that, tell them they are loathsome, despicable, scum.   It would be wrong for me to say: slap them silly.  Very wrong.  Depressingly, wrong.