Editorial

Don't ignore the signs of depression

Posted

If the tragic death of Robin Williams shows us anything, it’s that depression can affect anyone — even those who seem the most successful, the most well off, the happiest.

Depression is a disease, plain but not so simple. Like all mental illnesses, it still carries a social stigma. People who suffer from chronic depression are often ashamed of their condition. They hide how they feel, often masking it with humor, work or inebriation.

There was a time when cancer victims felt shame. Those who contracted it would hide the diagnosis and suffer in silence. Today we have learned that cancer is simply a serious disease, and we treat it as such. Cancer sufferers aren’t shamed because they are sick, and depression sufferers shouldn’t be, either.

According to the National Institute for Mental Health, 16 million American adults suffered a major depressive episode in 2012. That’s 6.9 percent of all adults. The institute defines such an episode as a “period of two weeks or longer during which there is either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure, and at least four other symptoms that reflect a change in functioning, such as problems with sleep, eating, energy, concentration, and self-image.”

The statistical dimensions of depression are both illuminating and sobering. Women are 70 percent more likely to suffer from depression than men. It is most common in younger people. Nearly 9 percent of Americans ages 18 to 25 suffer from depression, compared with 5.5 percent of people 50 or older. Women are more likely than men to attempt suicide, but men are more likely to succeed.

Williams’s death demonstrates that fame is no protection from depression. In fact, some experts argue that a life of celebrity and high-energy performance make it even harder to be treated successfully for the disease. Williams did not lack for access to care, but for reasons both complex and utterly personal, the treatment did not work for him.

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