Do you believe depression is an illness?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-2003
Do you believe depression is an illness?
32
Mon, 04-19-2004 - 4:30pm
My stepmother doesn't think depression is an illness, and I think it is.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-26-2004
Mon, 04-26-2004 - 10:51pm

Welcome, Jessica!

AcornLeaves
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-2003
Mon, 04-26-2004 - 11:20pm

Thank you, Barbara for the welcome.

~Jessica
Visitor (not verified)
anonymous user
Tue, 04-27-2004 - 6:13am
it is belive me i am suffering from it now.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-25-2004
Tue, 04-27-2004 - 9:17am
Arlington,

Depression is definitely a disease. It is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain, and is often triggered or exacerbated by situations or events.

Not all sufferers respond to medication, but for those that do, it is not, as your stepmother may believe, just "popping a pill" to feel better. These medications build in your system over several weeks to several months before they work. I wanted to mention this, because many who don't think depression is an illness also believe those who are depressed can just take a pill, and the depression vanishes.

I hope your stepmother will read some of the articles mentioned in other responses to your message, and that she will understand your (is it your?) situation with compassion.

Take care,

Lisa

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-27-2003
Tue, 04-27-2004 - 10:59am
This is a hard question for me to answer.

If a friend came up to me and told me she thought she was depressed, I would certainly believe that this was a medical condition caused by some imbalance and that there was no shame in it.

But we're not talking about a friend. In my case, I've been "down" for so long, that this just seemed part of me. I've been told that I don't apply myself, that I'm lazy, that I'm oversensitive, and all other sorts of insults... to the point where I fully believe that my depression is more a character flaw than anything else. I still believe that it's something that I should be able to fix on my own. And it's still difficult to believe that this is something that needs a doctor's supervision, simply because I thought it was my own fault that I was this way.

Do I believe that depression is an illness? Absolutely. Do I believe that my depression (should I choose to admit it) is an illness? Not yet.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-26-2004
Tue, 04-27-2004 - 11:35am
Welcome, Princess Laura!
AcornLeaves
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-26-2004
Tue, 04-27-2004 - 11:41am
Welcome, Lisa!
AcornLeaves
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-26-2004
Tue, 04-27-2004 - 11:47am

Welcome, Pongo26!

AcornLeaves
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-27-2003
Tue, 04-27-2004 - 12:05pm
My story is actually pretty simple.

I was on 20mg of Celexa for about 2 years. while it certainly helped take the edge off, I can't say that I was any happier because of it. I began therapy about a year and a half ago. So for awhile I was doing both. 6 months ago, I stopped taking Celexa and have just been going to therapy. This week, I had a discussion with my therapist that it might be a wise decision to go to a psychiatrist and try something else. (since my GP prescribed Celexa, and although it helped, it might not have been strong enough.) I am in the process of encouraging myself to make an appointment in order to start over again.

While I haven't been more depressed of late (in regard to being sad) I have lost focus, have gained weight, and just feel more unhappy than usual. But, then again, it's still very hard for me to say that I'm depressed. Even my therapist hasn't particularly labeled me as depressed, even though she did acknowledge that I tend to be "in the basement" most of the time.

I guess I'm hoping that this board will help me figure out if I'm really depressed or whether I just have tendencies toward depression (which may be the same thing.) I guess I'm just having a very hard time labelling myself as having depression.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-26-2004
Tue, 04-27-2004 - 12:23pm

Thanks for filling in some details.

AcornLeaves