Picture ©
There’s been a lot of talk, in
the wake of Robin Williams committing suicide, about depression this week,
which is a positive after-effect. Unfortunately the ugly subject only seems to
rear its head at such times, the last time it was talked about openly was last
year when Stephen Fry admitted that he had attempted suicide by overdose while
filming abroad. Surely this is a subject that needs a greater airing as it is
still a disastrously misunderstood illness.
The biggest problem is the
ill-informed idea that ‘depression’ and ‘being in a mardy’ are one and the same
and that you can just cheer up and get over. People also seem to think that if
you’re laughing and joking then you can’t possibly be wishing you had died in
your sleep to save yourself the trouble. Personally, I don’t think that people
who haven’t suffered (or know a sufferer) will ever fully understand; these are
the same people who think that OCD is that cute little ‘likes to tidy up a bit’
affliction.
Telling people with depression to "just snap out of it" is about as useful as telling people with cancer to "just stop having cancer".
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) August 13, 2014
Allowing my mind to wander a
little while I was walking the dog today, I pondered on awareness and what
could be done. Perhaps I could do something positive to help others? When my
article was published I received some lovely feedback from people with
depression, and again when I re-posted it in the wake of the Robin Williams
story. Could I use what little public profile I have for good and become a
spokesman for this illness? It’s worth looking into I suppose.
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