Antidepressant meds and you...

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The problem with depression (not the mood, the condition) is that there's a HUGE perception hurdle for the large masses. It's easy to understand why having broken bones or a tumour that spreads like a wildfire is a Bad Thing (tm) while being depressed gives the gut reaction of "ohh.. well, go see a feelgood movie then, maybe it'll cheer ya up?"

While Blades is seemingly stomping on a lot of touchy feelings, the man actually has a point hidden there somewhere. I'd go as far as to assert that every case of "I have this [condition], can I haz loooots of pity my way, pl0x" is directly responsible for not only the actual fraud and misuse of resources but a whole lot of mistrust against the people that really DO suffer from it. But don't shoot the ignorant, aim at the parasites trying to use the condition for their own benefit.

And finally, the disclaimer: I was diagnosed with (a somewhat mild form of) depression around 2002-2003 and lived to tell the tale. But boy, did it change my perception on the parameters of this particular condition. The only thing anyone putting the equal sign between the two definitions of depression (mood and the actual condition) deserve, in my not so humble opinion, is a public humiliation for being truly ignorant.

 

The real kicker is that more or less everyone has that attitude to some extent, even or especially the ones suffering from depression. They also think they should be able to snap out of it and stop moping around like some drama queen and when they can't they get even more depressed.

 

Recovering from depression may require some very radical changes in one's life. The kind changes of which many people aren't willing to make. Complete change of surroundings, complete change concerning the group of people one's involved with, complete change concerning one's goals in life.

For most these changes aren't possible. There's too much at stake and too much to give up. Too big chances involved. It's literally gambling with your life and with what one perceives oneself to be...

Many people overcoming mental illnesses find respite and new resolve in from a completely different mindsets. An atheist becomes religious, a religious person becomes atheist. A promising future and a promising life becomes ruined by abuse of medicine, alcohol and excessive, uncontrolled use of narcotics, or a life already ruined by addiction becomes a life with almost obsessive control and discipline, especially if the person finds comfort from some strict religious sect.

The question is how much from the self that one clings to is one willing to let go...not completely, there is a wide spectrum of individual differences...But I don't think that this is too far from what is happening with many people with psychiatric problems from which there can be at least partial recovery...

 

I would prefer the way of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, except without the side effects of remembering.

 

In the vein of this topic, today is 'To Write Love on Her Arms' day, in which you write the word 'love' somewhere on your arms/wrists/hands to show your support/bring awareness to how many people depression affects, whether or not it affects you.

Try it out!

 

How would anyone seeing the word "love" written on someone else's arm all of a sudden develop an awareness of depression?

 

Might raise Emo Awareness

 

I agree with Splunge - I don't see the connection. What does writing love on you have to do with raising awareness of depression? Unless you already knew why you were doing it, in which case you were already aware of what was going on, and therefore had no need to be made aware...

 

Well, what does a pink ribbon have to do with breast cancer (that is breast cancer, isn't it)? It's symbology, and that's all.

 

People see the word LOVE on your arm, ask you why it is there, and you explain it to them... if someone sees ten people with the word LOVE written on their arm in a day, they might start to think something is up and get curious.

Allow V to explain: "A building is a symbol, as is the act of destroying it. Symbols are given power by people. A symbol, in and of itself is powerless, but with enough people behind it, blowing up a building can change the world."

 

Yeah, I had thought of that, and even thought about the pink ribbon analogy, but I think that the breast cancer/ribbon thing was better promoted, so a lot of people already knew what the ribbon signified, not to mention that the pink ribbons are on-going, and not just for one day. Plus it seems to me that there's a difference between asking why people are wearing a pink ribbon, vs. why they have the word "love" written on their arm; the latter seems to be a bit more personal. Lastly, why would they do this now when the weather is cooler and many people in northern areas are wearing long-sleeved shirts?

 

I agree. The word 'love' does not fit the cause of depression awareness.

It's not a very well thought out 'symbol' then.

I didn't put much thought in to it, but I'm thinking this would be 100 times better as a 'depression awareness' symbol:

 

I guess a little lesson in the ribbons....

The term (and practice) of tying a yellow ribbon is several hundred years old. It was a physical display which represented waiting for a loved one who was gone (and hopefully would return). Often the yellow ribbon was worn on a person and a very popular song in the 40's was She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, the chorus was simply:

Far away, far away
She wore it for her soldier
Who was far, far away​

This is very similar to wearing a black ribbon for someone who is gone. It became popularized to tie the ribbon on trees outside of homes when a loved one was returning home. The tradition became popularized in the seventies with the song Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree which was about a guy returning home from prison.

Since then, tying ribbons on trees has been quite common -- especially for military members (these ribbons are usually yellow, but often a combination of red, white and blue). The entire intent is to remember someone who has been gone; sometimes the ribbons are on the trees during the entire deployment.

I personally thing the pink ribbon was an excellent choice -- it stood out as being unique and the ribbon was already recognized as a symbol of loss (but in this case the person often did not return).

The pink ribbon caused people to ask questions -- an important feature for such a campaign. I think writing the word "LOVE" does not do that. A person with stuff written on them with marker is generally dismissed as a nutcase; which is the wrong message to send.

On a related note, when I attended the University of Utah the Gay Student Union decided to have a Gay Awareness Day. They chose to use Levi's as a symbol of support and were estatic when a huge number of students wore Levi's on that day ... the same number of students who wore Levi's on any other day.

 

I think that with proper education, "love" would be an excellent word for an anti-depression campaign. Here's why:

When I was depressed after my divorce, I felt like no one loved me. I felt utterly alone, and even the acts of kindness that friends and acquaintances performed on my behalf simply didn't resonate. That loneliness led me to think seriously of suicide. The intellectual knowledge that there were people who loved me (and would be hurt by my suicide) kept me from opening my wrists in the bathtub. The love of my father, my children, and my friends, even though I didn't feel it at the time, kept me going. The meds helped too, don't get me wrong, as well as the desire to not be remembered as a weak failure who let his whore of an ex-wife get the better of him in the ultimate sense. But the strongest factor was the love.

So to remember love, especially on a place as suicidally significant as the wrists, is IMHO an excellent way to remind people of the serious nature of depression -- and the best preventative technique we have (again, that is MHO and not necessarily clinically proven). We lose far too many people every year in North America (and I would hazard elsewhere too) to simply write suicides off as "weak people who just need to buck up." Such talk merely discourages them even further and pushes them toward doing something that everyone regrets later.

I should also mention that the people here on SP were very supportive despite the fact that I've never met any of them face to face. You guys helped, and I'll never forget it or be able to pay you back.

 

I disagree. While I don't disagree with your points, I don't think that "love" as a slogan/symsol works too well. Let’s continue with the pink ribbon comparison.

The pink ribbon, prior to being adopted by breast cancer, had no association with anything else, other than the more general ribbon symbolization that T2 described so well. Basically, breast cancer has taken ownership * of pink ribbons – anyone seeing a pink ribbon these days knows exactly what it symbolizes. The word “love”, on the other hand, is associated with any number of things. Heck, if I saw the word “love” written on someone’s arm (or anywhere else, for that matter), I would be more likely to think of the Cirque du Soleil performance of Love than I would of depression. The problem is that “love” is too generic and widespread for anyone to take ownership of it, and I don't think any amount of "education" would change that. I also think you’d get a lot of backlash from people who would object to the linking of love (a good thing) with depression (a bad thing **) (I wouldn't be one of them, but then again, I don't object to gays wanting to call their union a "marriage").

Basically, as a symbol (or campaign slogan), I don’t think that “love” works. It might be OK as part of a campaign, but not as the primary focus.

* by ownership, I don’t necessarily mean it in a legal sense (although that may very well be the case with breast cancer), but rather in the sense that it has become associated with one thing and one thing only.

**I don’t mean that depressed people are bad, but depression itself certainly isn’t something good.

 

Well...If I'd write 'love' on my wrists, it'd be the surest way to make me slit them...

It's not that I'd be depressed, nuh-uh, it's just that personally 'love' is close for being an insult.

 

That was kind of my point - ribbons are worn to commemorate a great many things, although yellow for military members that T2B states is probably the most common.

If they used a ribbon of a different color, people would definitely ask what the ribbon was for - or if they used a colored arm band similar to what they did with Lance Armstrong. If there's a history of something, people will become aware of similar practices, but I know of no presedent of writing words on yourself - it's usually considered a practice of those with mental problems, which is the last thing you'd want to suggest to someone battling depression.

 

Splunge made some excellent points. I guess I was aiming at the idea that "love" would not be an inappropriate catchphrase for an anti-depression campaign. As Splunge mentioned, thoough, it might not be a very effective one.

Aldeth's comments on writing on oneself are also very well taken.

Perhaps a blue ribbon? Or would that be seen as too cute (as in "the blues")?

 

That's a really good point (and one that I missed when T2 raised it earlier). I think a lot of people would see words written on someone's arm and view that as a sign of mental illness; that fact that the word is "love" and was intended to bring awareness to depression would be totally lost.