Question about depression

[ThoughtfulWords]

I know this is my first post but I`ve been reading posts on these forums for a few days now and I have a question that I was hoping you guys could help me answer. I`ll probably make a post filling in the background information at a later date but for now lets focus on the question at hand:

Why is it that when someone is depressed, there are people who try to tell that person that they shouldn`t be depressed because there are so many people in the world going through much worse situations?

(for sake of not having better words)
someone in the worst situation = Person A
someone in the "easier" situation = Person B

Do they not understand that the "sadness" that Person A is feeling is the same as the sadness that Person B is feeling and all they need to do is experience circumstances to bring them to that level of "sadness"?

I'm sure that the emotion doesn't re-invent itself for Person A.

Thoughts?

 

[Himself]

I think the formulation is flawed, borne out of a misunderstanding by the general populace about what depression really is. Too often, it seems that the broader society conflates "depression" with "being upset or miserable, but to a greater degree than normal" -- some nebulous condition more akin to grief.

As someone who's suffered from depression, I think it's important to for people unfamiliar with the condition to recognize that it is -- at least in my own view -- a form of cognitive malfunction. There is an enormous qualitative difference between the nebulous "depression" the public has in mind, and depression itself. It surprises me that, given the prevalence of depression and related mood disorders in the United States, the most people know about depression comes from ads for antidepressants. There's a strikingly minimal amount of information presented in those ads, and most never go further to learn about it. (I know I didn't, until I became depressed.)

The fact that a sufferer of depression isn't starving in Africa doesn't make his impairment any less real or serious.

 

[Cogito]

I'd go so far as to say that the aforementioned approach can even worsen feelings of depression.

"There are starving children in Africa, and I'm crying over this? How utterly pathetic. BAH."

 

[Lithorn]

I completely agree, Himself. But I think that part of the problem is that it's so over-diagnosed. Plenty of people are upset or grieving or unhappy with their lives, and this just serves to further discredit those who legitimately suffer from clinical depression.
Rather like ADD. I can't tell you how many kids in my highschool had "ADD" simply because they were a little spacey or a little lazy, or because their parents wanted to medicate them into better grades. Meanwhile a friend of mind who literally can't string two full sentences together if he's off his medication has his condition dismissed as not a big deal.

 

[EditorOne]

"Rather like ADD. I can't tell you how many kids in my highschool had "ADD" simply because they were a little spacey or a little lazy, or because their parents wanted to medicate them into better grades."

As bad as it gets, and as faddish as these afflictions can turn out to be, the alternative in the other direction can be worse. I remember Nancy Wayne Stuart, started out with me in kindergarten. She was gone by the second grade, whisked away into the Vineland School for Women -- an asylum for the mentally ill -- because she was both ADD and somewhat retarded. Other kids used to bait her, on the ride home from school, into shouting out her name, which would set off the bus driver, which would set off Nancy Wayne even more. Kids can be assholes yes, but today she'd be dealt with in a much more humane fashion and would be given some level of activity at which she could be fulfilled. As it was she died in the asylum after vegetating there for 30 years or so. Oh, and this was a physician's daughter, just to show you how benighted it was around about 1956. So, yeah, it's overdone, people are what, I guess, overdiagnosed? But it seems a more civilized approach than the one I grew up with

 

[Da Blob]

Concerning Depression 90% of the people in the US will suffer an episode of clinical depression at some point in their lives. The people who think that it is a voluntary state, simply must not have lived through their own episodes yet, therefore lack understanding/empathy...

 

[Lithorn]

Where did you get that statistic?

 

[Hawkeye]

Where did you get that statistic?

37.6% of statistics are made up on the spot.

 

[Da Blob]

Where did you get that statistic?

Oltmanns, T.E. & Emery, R.E. (2004). Mood disorders and suicide, Abnormal psychology (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall

(I could be mistaken, i spent some time scanning the chapter to provide a page number, but i did not see it again on first perusal)

 

[Cognisant]

I read 1/4 on the side of a bus once, some government funded project it was, I think...

 

[Da Blob]

I read 1/4 on the side of a bus once, some government funded project it was, I think...

Episodes of Depression are so common, that a diagnosis of Chronic Depression entails multiple episodes within a narrow time frame. This makes sense in a way - it has to be a re-occurring state, before it could be labeled as a mental disorder and not simply a temporary state of mental imbalance. I believe that 25% figure refers to those that could be/have been diagnosed based upon re-occurring episodes - not just one episode (?) It seems to be a bit high though for the prevalence of mood disorders in the GP (?)

 

[asdfasdfasdfsdf]

might be slightly off topic, but i just got a perscription for prozac today.

 

[spoirier]

Why is it that when someone is depressed, there are people who try to tell that person that they shouldn`t be depressed because there are so many people in the world going through much worse situations?

Because they like Stalin's philosophy :

A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.

:smiley_emoticons_mr
More comments on the same problem in the context of what makes me depressed...

 

[Architectonic]

Why is it that when someone is depressed, there are people who try to tell that person that they shouldn`t be depressed because there are so many people in the world going through much worse situations?

The same applies to all health conditions.
It is an appeal to ignorance. They may as well say "I am incapable of understanding how you really feel, so I'm just going to make some bullshit comparisons".

On the other hand,

YouTube- FDA Approves Depressant Drug For The Annoyingly Cheerful

 

[Lithorn]

^The world's finest news source.

 

[White Rabbit]

Because they are full of shit.

People have the urge to form opinions, pick sides and give advices, even when they know they know nothing. In slightly less than 100%, replies you receive ought to be taken with highest contempt and readiness to question it until validated. Regarding their stance on depression, well, it's really you being replaced by themselves, while your actual problem is deemed not as serious, as your apparent lack of awareness regarding the relationship between your position and "worse" ones is.

Always fear the one who wants to teach you.

 

[Vrecknidj]

People are afraid of what they do not understand. I have more experience with depression than I'd like. My wife, one son, one sister, and some friends have all been taken to the edge of oblivion by depression, and I've stared death in the face myself.

I have had to fight a lot of battles for my loved ones. Fortunately for me, my own severe depression(s) came after I had already helped others with theirs. It's not easy, spending time in a hospital with a friend who has completely come unglued from himself.

Anyway, I've had to explain to others what depression is, and what it isn't. I've had varying successes, based upon the ability of the others to set aside their preconceptions, their fears, etc., and just listen.

Some folks never get it. You might as well try explaining yourself to a wall, because you're never going to make them understand. Others will eventually get it.

Dave