Depression Tip #24: Stigma!💙

Depression is a horrible illness and a very difficult illness to live with day to day. But what can actually make it worse is sometimes the attitudes of people and institutions from the outside.💙

So let's take, for example, the medical establishment. It can be difficult for doctors to come to terms with treating depression because it's not an easy illness to treat. And that difficulty can mean that the person who's depressed feels like they're a burden on the medical establishment, which can make their depression worse.💙

Secondly, there's the stigma and stereotypes such as individuals thinking that people with depression are just making it up, they're looking for attention, they're just lazy and should pull their socks up, where none of that is the case.💙

And thirdly, there's the very difficult issue of family and friends not really knowing what to say to someone who's depressed. So instead of saying the wrong thing, they actually back away. And then that support that the depressed person loses makes the depression even more difficult to deal with.💙

https://www.epicentering.com/blog/depression-tip-24-stigma