Let's Talk About Depression

Politics for Joe
January 27, 2012
By: Hubert O’Hearn
For: Lake Superior News


On Depression

This is a different sort of political column. We’re not going to be discussing who’s going to win the NDP leadership, what Stephen Harper may or may not be doing to the country, or the ways in which Northwestern Ontario is treated like a feeder colony by the government at Queen’s Park. All worthy topics; just not right now.

You see, we’re going to talk about politics right at its most absolute root level - the individual. That’s you and me and that guy I see out the window shoveling off his front steps. Politics is a discussion amongst individuals for the purpose of creating a state that is more perfect, safer and healthier than it is today. It is a discussion about health. So let us look at health today and in particular the issue of Depression.

Click.

You don’t want to read about that.

Of course you don’t. Depression is after all a condition described thusly by Clinical Psychologist Marie Murray in the Irish Times:

DEPRESSION depletes those who suffer from it. The weight of it, the lack of energy, the light gone out of life drains happiness away. There is anxiety and emptiness. There is loss of everything that was once enjoyed. There are feelings of failure, social withdrawal and loneliness, listlessness and isolation, and those terrible twin emotions of helplessness and hopelessness. Everything seems to be pointless including living.
Often there are physical pains, headaches, stomach aches, the exhaustion of disturbed sleep, feelings of being unwell, of a body in too much misery with a mind that is racing in never-ending circles of despair.

So why on Earth do I want you to read about it, think about it, perhaps even act upon it? After all, how many people are we talking about here?

Statistics are notoriously difficult to compile on this subject, mainly because sufferers actually have to seek treatment in order for inclusion in the number. By that standard, there are 9 million Depressed individuals in the U.S. That would be about 2.5% of the population, give or take. On the other hand, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association, 36% of Canadians admit to having suffered from Depression themselves. Assuming that the mental health of Americans and Canadians is roughly the same - I see no reason for a huge divergence there - what do those numbers tell us? Less than 10% of the people with a debilitating illness seek professional diagnosis and treatment.

Wow.

But then, what is Depression? How is it different from just ‘having a bad day’ or being ‘down in the dumps’? Before we proceed, I want you to do something. And I really really want you to do this because my gut tells me it might save some lives. I want you to take the Depression test at Depressionhurts.ca The link will take you straight there. I’ll be here when you get back.

How did you do? What was your impact score? I’m going to share mine with you: 7 out of 10 which rates as High Impact. It used to be even higher and not very long ago at all it was 9. Yes, I suffer from Depression.

What Depression is, according to the World Health Organization is:

a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration. These problems can become chronic or recurrent and lead to substantial impairments in an individual's ability to take care of his or her everyday responsibilities. At its worst, depression can lead to suicide, a tragic fatality associated with the loss of about 850 000 lives every year.
Depression is the leading cause of disability as measured by YLDs and the 4th  leading contributor to the global burden of disease (DALYs) in 2000. By the year 2020, depression is projected to reach 2nd place of the ranking of DALYs calcuated for all ages, both sexes. Today, depression is already the 2nd cause of DALYs in the age category 15-44 years for both sexes combined.

It’s all around us. The ex-NHLer Wade Belak committed suicide because of it. The manager of the Wales national football team Gary Speed committed suicide because of it. Maybe someone you know who wasn’t a famous athlete committed suicide because of it.

And yet we don’t talk about it. Colleagues and co-workers will regale you with tales of toothaches, backaches, headaches and heartaches; Depression? Not a word. The stigma seems to be that Depression is something you should be able to ‘get over’ as though there is an internal Cheer Up! switch that can be turned on at will.

The nefarious aspect is that in some ways that light switch does exist. This is why the suicides of people like Belak or Speed come as such a shock. The day before he was found hanging in his garage, Speed had been on a UK football telecast, laughing, joking, doing analysis, looking and sounding great! How can that possibly be? Was it all just an act?

It’s not an act. It is a different reality. Talk show host Dick Cavett talked about it in his book Caveat Cavett. He would do an episode of his show, be affable, quick and funny...then go home and be absolutely numb. He realized after a time, and novelist William Saroyan had the same experience, that there were months of his life that he could not recall. During the taping of the show, Cavett’s mind was on that, not on himself. Gary Speed’s mind was on football. After the show was over, the thoughts return to the self and the sickness resumes its dominant place.

The CTV television network is doing a very good thing this February 8th. The host of TSN’s Off the Record, Michael Landsberg will be hosting and appearing in a documentary called DARKNESS AND HOPE: DEPRESSION, SPORTS AND ME. This is part of Bell Let’s Talk Day; a day devoted to discussion of this topic. And yes, Landsberg too has suffered from Depression.

Here’s the last thing to share with you, direct from my own battle. You may not know you have Depression until you’re deeply into it. If you break your arm, you know it right away; your consciousness however tends to hide away. Just be aware that if you have experienced a major life trauma (and this is my story, not everyone’s) that can trigger Depression. The best advice I can give to you is to expect it. So if you lose your job, your spouse, someone near to you dies or becomes seriously ill, expect Depression. Go for help right away before it grabs you by the throat and starts pulling you down under the dark water. If you don’t become Depressed - great. I couldn’t be happier for you and I couldn’t care less that maybe you’ve contributed a couple of thousand dollars to Ontario’s deficit by seeking unneeded treatment. I’d rather have you alive.

February 8th. Don’t forget that date. I know I can’t.