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| *Women health>>>Depression |
Do you believe that there is a relationship between the medicalization of depression and the social stigma...? |
of mental illness. ie. the belief that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance or physical brain disorder. This is not to say that the medication doesn't work, just that the medication alone is not a cure nor is the 'imbalance' the only cause. For example many will argue that depression is only a physical brain disorder instead of a combination of enviroment, behavour and thought because they believe that this implies a sort of personality or character flaw even though this is not what it implies and there is plenty of evidence that clearly proves that clinical depression can be treated with therapy alone and is best treated with a combination of therapy and medication. The problem is that with any mental abnormality there is a stigma. The only time that it is okay to seek therapy is when someone dies. It's seen as a way to help with a traumatic even. If someone sees a therapist outside those situations, they are seen as crazy or seriously ill. What person would want their friends or family thinking there is something seriously wrong like that. A trained professional is able to look at the person's lifestyle and mental health and make an informed decision. There is no psychologist that will meet once with a patient and say they are depressed. They may say that there are symptoms but it takes more time to give the clinical assessment. That's why the involuntary commitment for mental evaluation takes 72 hours. As for medication vs therapy, there are people that become depressed because of situations. Equally there are people that are depressed and there's a family history of depression. If depression was all just a mental state, there wouldn't be correlation between family members having depression. Yes, there are always some people that will encourage social stigmas about virtually everything. It stinks for people that are mentally ill, physically ill and even just a little bit different from the norm. Try your best to educate and or ignore those people. As far as depression, there is no proven "cure". SSRIs, mood stabilizers, sedatives, stimulants and seizure medications have all been prescribed for different instances of "depression." There should be no social stigma for people suffering from a disease. Unfortunately, medication is a HOT topic these days. Also, it is hard find one factor that causes depression. Neurophysiological imbalances of serotonin, dopamine and norenephrine have been identified, respectively and together as neurophysiological hallmarks of the disease. Environment and life experience also play a huge role in one's proclivity to become depressed. I think it is a mixture of the two, but there is no perfect formula to decide what caused what to each person experiencing some level of depression. psych major, been to lots and lots of lectures and worked in labs. There's also plenty of evidence that some people cannot be treated with therapy alone. As far as social stigma goes-how someone is treated makes no difference in what people think. If people think mental disorders aren't real they think that regardless of the treatment. Suffering from depression for 10 years. I am one who is mentally perfectly well adjusted. The medication that I am on periodically is the only thing that works i.e. they did therapy when I was first diagnosed and found out that I'm 'normal'. More public education and promotion of mental illnesses (including depression) to be raised to the same standard as physical ailments are needed. As the public becomes more educated there will be more acceptance. This has been true for many illness throughout history. What people don't know can create fear and intolerance. Generations ago physically ill people were hung, drown, etc. because the people paniced before knowing the cause and that they couldn't catch the illness. When compassion was needed... fear killed. And the ill didn't kill... the "healthy" killed the ill. Past, Present and hopefully not future |
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