DEPRESSION NEEDS TO BE TREATED
Depression is a health problem, not a character flaw or weakness.
There is therefore no need to be ashamed of taking antidepressants. The pill is not going to make all your problems go away, though. It only makes it easier to get up every morning, cope with daily challenges of depression and work through their issues.
Antidepressants are usually prescribed when or after one has tried to pull themselves out of depression with other methods such as counselling and lifestyle changes, and have failed. A potential consequence of not seeking treatment or of waiting too long trying to “do it on your own” can get so bad that one may end up in hospital, hurting someone or even themselves.
Many people feel so much better with medication such that they feel they don’t need it anymore. But you may find the depression eventually returns and even worsens since the antidepressant is the one that is keeping you stable - it balances the chemicals in the brain, and you start seeing, “The world like other people. In other words, you may have a relapse. Antidepressants can be likened to ARV’S or medication for High Blood Pressure. When taking them as directed by the doctors, you feel okay, but once you stop taking them, you risk a recurrence of depression.
There’s a lot of stigma around depression and antidepressants. Regularly experiencing stigma increases the risk of depression and having suicidal thoughts. There are things that one has to avoid saying to a loved one who has opened up to them about their depression. Why am I saying this? It’s because sometimes people with depression think they are to blame for their condition, therefore some advices may make them feel that if only
they weren’t “weak” or “self-indulgent”, they would feel better. They might even blame themselves more, and this would worsen their condition.
‘People living with depression don’t need to justify their feelings to anyone.”
Someone may think a person with depression doesn’t need medication but should try other forms of recovery. Remember, I’ve already mentioned that the medication comes after one has tried other forms and has failed. You may realise that telling someone that they don’t need medication for their depression is a form of stigmatisation or “pill shaming”. Shaming others for the use of medication is dangerous because the antidepressants help balance chemicals in the brain.
Therefore, if someone is ashamed, they may;
• Stop the pill abruptly,
and this may worsen their symptoms (having withdrawal symptoms).
• End up not opening
up about what they are going through. This can leave them feeling alone and cut off from even those closest to them.
• Sometimes feel as
though they should feel guilty or shameful for the way they feel.
Questions like, “Have you tried going out more?” can easily give a wrong impression that one thinks that the person with depression is not trying enough to manage themselves or the situation they are in. In reality, that person may have tried going out and found that it was not helpful. Therefore we should be aware that coping mechanisms or even lifestyle changes differ from one person to the other; what works for one person may not work for the other.
Let’s support people living with depression, and not stigmatise or view them as weak or not trying hard.