The month of May is a month of celebration and a month of remembrance: May Day, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, and more. But May is also Mental Health Awareness Month, and mental health is not something we like to discuss or even think about. It’s for this reason that those suffering from mental illness are given a double whammy—not only do they have to deal with what can be a debilitating condition, they are taught to be secretive about it, for fear of turning off potential friends, lovers, employers. They’re judged by it, as though they brought it upon themselves. As a result of that, they learn to be ashamed of it, too. Think about it: We can call in sick to work if we have the flu, but if we’re suffering from a severe bout of depression which can have the same physical effects as the flu, how many of us would feel comfortable telling our place of business that?
I think the term “depression” itself is at fault: when someone who doesn’t know the difference between a down day-–i.e—“My team lost, I am so depressed”— and a full blown bout of bone deep, overwhelming despondency that is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain— the person dealing with the latter is thrown a whole bunch of uneducated advice: “Oh, come on—snap out of it. Go for a walk. You’ll feel better if you let yourself.” That’s the response you’d give to the person who’s bummed about her team losing, but to say it to someone who suffers from “clinical depression,” you might as well tell that person, “I don’t know or care anything at all about what you’re feeling,” because those words will have the same effect as, “Snap out of it.” Those careless words can send your friend or loved one into an even deeper state of despair. You’ve shown this person that she or he is utterly alone, that you don’t understand, nor do you care to understand what they’re suffering from. So, to start, I believe the medical and psychiatric communities should come up with another term for this condition, one that is much clearer.
But, “snap out of it,” is not the most dangerous statement the uniformed make to those dealing with mental issues, such as depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD and so on. No, the most dangerous thing is to say to that person this: “Why are you taking pills? You don’t need them. Look at you–you’re fine. This is just the medical industry trying to get your money. If you’d just meditate, eat right, take care of your body, you wouldn’t need those pills.”
Wow. The arrogance and ignorance of this kind of commentary is appalling. Yes, the medical industry is trying to take our money–that’s why cancer treatments are so expensive too. As much as we’d like to hope that physicians and psychiatrists are in it for the greater good, that is not necessarily so. But try telling a cancer patient not to take pills to fight off their disease, because people in the medical industry are trying to get rich quick. That might be true, but research shows these treatments help, and not availing ourselves of these treatments is cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face. Additionally, the decision not to avail oneself of what modern medicine has to offer should be a personal choice—not one that someone who is mentally ill has been emotionally blackmailed into making by the people who are important to them.
If you don’t believe in the value of medications, if you fear their side effects, or think there’s something disgraceful about needing to take Prozac or Adderall, you might want to think about this: These two medications have had some fabulous results for the people who need them and use them. So much so that they’re willing to deal with whatever side effects they might experience from them, because those side effects are so much less life crushing than what happens to their brains when these supplements are not introduced into their system. I have seen it with my own eyes, because I know a number of people who have to deal with this. And guess what? You probably do too. But, thanks to pop culture films and books which detail the experiences of the few rather than the many, the public at large sees these psychotropic advances as some kind of “bad juju.” It makes me laugh and makes me angry at the same time–we all ingest ungodly food and drink as part of an ordinary day, and see that as perfectly normal. My fav? Diet soda. It’s nothing more than slow poison, but we drink it. And fast food, not to mention alcohol, or caffeine and every other substance Joe Public sees as “okay.” But someone who takes an Adderall because their brain is running at the speed of light, and they can’t focus on a task as a result, or someone who takes Prozac because they feel every negative stimuli as a stab to the heart because of overactive parts of the brain–those people are made to feel bad about themselves because of what they’re ingesting.
So, in May, while we’re celebrating our mothers, or our soldiers, or even, as in my case, the anniversary of the maiden voyage of a historical ship, let’s also take a moment to celebrate those who battle mental illness every day. These fellow human beings are all around us. Let’s show them compassion. Let’s try to be more understanding. Let’s, for the love of Heaven, give them a break. In fact, why don’t we do that for everyone?
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