Scrolling through social media is a lot like hiking in early summer: as much as you’re trying to enjoy some refreshing fun, there’s always that one damn deer fly that drives you mad.
And while your peace-loving side would rather ignore it, sometimes the only course of action is to put the smackdown on that sumbitch.
Such was the case when I was otherwise minding my own business and stumbled upon this dreadful meme making the rounds in my news feed.
Not only is the graphic fantastically insightful dangerous, but as usual, the comments will make you want to fling your head through a stucco wall.
And this buzzing fly wasn’t one that I could ignore. Because its tired message demonstrates precisely why people continue to feel stigmatized by mental illness, and why they often don’t seek the help that could save their lives.
The Realities of Depression
Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States. More than being sad or low, it is characterized by feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness, difficulty concentrating, disruption of sleep patterns, numbness, loneliness, and a loss of pleasure in nearly all activities lasting a period of at least two weeks. At times, as in the case of persistent depressive disorder or dysthymia, these periods can last for years.
In 2014, the National Institute of Mental Health reported that 15.7 million people age 18 or older had at least one major depressive episode in the past year, with nearly two-thirds (or 10.2 million) experiencing an episode that severely impacted their ability to function at work and home, maintain relationships with others, or have a social life. Sadly, only 35% of people reporting severe depressive symptoms sought help from a mental health professional.
The serious nature of depression is often underappreciated, yet it can have deadly consequences. According to the CDC:
- In 2013, suicide was the 2nd leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10 and 34, the 4th leading cause of death for people between ages 35 and 44, and the 10th leading cause of death across all ages.
- Since 1999, the age-adjusted suicide rate in the United States has increased 24%, with the pace of increase greater after 2006.
- In 2013, an estimated 41,149 people succeeded at taking their own lives in the United States – translating to a rate of 113 suicides per day or 1 every 13 minutes.
- In the same year,approximately 1.3 million people attempted suicide, and 494,169 people were treated in emergency departments for self-inflicted injuries.
Yet these numbers do not fully capture the problem, as many people who have suicidal thoughts or have attempted suicide do not seek help.
Depression cannot be taken lightly. At its worst, it gets you alone in your own mind, rails against every well-honed survival instinct that your brain has developed in its thousands of years of evolution, and removes your ability to think rationally.
And once it’s removed every last bit of hope, severed all ties to the person you used to be, and isolated you from your support network, it develops its own dark and desperate narrative. A relentless hounding that takes every opportunity to remind you that the world would be better off without you in it.
People struggling with depression need help from professionals who can provide them with the tools they need to heal – not self-righteous chest-thumping about nature as a panacea.
Treating Depression
Depression is treatable, especially in its earliest stages. If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of depression, the best course of action is to contact your doctor. Some physical conditions and medications can cause the same symptoms as depression, and your doctor may be able to rule them out.
If a physical cause can be ruled out, the next step is to talk to a mental health professional. For some, talk therapy (or psychotherapy) alone can help them recover. Therapists are individuals who take different approaches, and it’s perfectly acceptable to find a different therapist if the one you’re seeing isn’t right for you.
In addition to talk therapy, lifestyle adjustments also can improve your ability to manage your illness. They include maintaining a healthy diet, being physically active, getting adequate sleep, abstaining from alcohol, improving mindfulness, maintaining social relationships, and spending time outdoors.
But when lifestyle interventions aren’t enough, medication may be the most appropriate course of action. Medication often isn’t recommended in a vacuum; rather, it may be most effective when combined with talk therapy and other lifestyle adjustments.
An important reminder is that medication is not a “happy pill.” It doesn’t leave you skipping through the streets without a care in the world. Rather, it can help reduce the volume on dysfunctional thoughts, allowing you to return to a more functional baseline.
One size doesn’t fit all
Exposure to nature has well-documented benefits to our health, including but not limited to increasing natural killer cells, decreasing stress levels, improving creativity, lowering depression, decreasing rumination, easing PTSD, and improving our sense of subjective-well-being. But let’s be very clear about it’s role in complementing medicine rather than replacing it.
Psychotropic medications are not without risk, and they are not for everyone. But they exist for a reason, and despite the relentless fist-shaking by conspiracy theorists, it isn’t simply to line the pockets of “Big Pharma.”
It is to keep people alive in the midst of debilitating darkness.
If you or someone you know made changes to your lifestyle, got outdoors, and found that you were able to manage your illness without medication, that’s terrific. Medication isn’t right for every person in every circumstance, and I’m happy that you’re in a stronger place.
If you or someone you know found that no amount of hiking and healthy eating helped alleviate your symptoms and you chose to use medication, that’s okay, too. You aren’t weak or flawed because you made a choice that kept you alive.
And if you or someone you know are still trying to find a combination of lifestyle adjustments and medications that will help you manage your illness, please keep going. Your demons will try to convince you that the world is better off without you, and that it won’t matter if you’re gone. But it simply isn’t true.
Finding your path forward
Ironically, treating depression is much like hiking a mountain. There is more than one trail leading to the peak, and if the goal is to get there, it doesn’t matter which one you choose. What matters is that you get there safely.
In the end, you have to take the route that works for YOU. And what works for you may not work for someone else.
But what doesn’t work for ANYONE is perpetuating the notion that people suffering with depression are somehow less than – particularly if they choose medication over frolicking in nature. This stigma is not only irresponsible – it can be deadly.
If you are struggling with depression – or any other mental illness – and need help, please find a therapist that you can talk to, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or find them at www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
Resources
Depression statistics from the CDC, 2009 – 2012
Anxiety & Depression Association of America
National Institute of Mental Health
NIMH Major depression statistics among adults