Stop Telling Us To Ask For Help. Depression Doesn’t Work Like That.
I’ve been reading through so many devastated posts since last night’s news of Robin Williams’ death and the overwhelming theme seems to be: if you’re depressed and/or suicidal “ask for help!” or “reach out”.
But that’s just not how depression and/or suicidal thinking works when you’re in the thick of it.
We need to do so much more as a society/culture to help those with depression and other mental illnesses. We really don’t understand it and have yet to do what is necessary to grasp the enormous complexity of the brain. We understand more about the solar system and the known universe than we do the human mind!
If you have never been there it is easy to overlook how alien the idea is of telling anyone anything when you are desperate enough to consider taking your own life. The shame and confusion that come with not being “normal” or “happy” can be too much to cope with and the thought of reaching out to a friend only exacerbates the condition. Crippling thoughts such as “I ruin everything,” “I’m toxic,” “I only hurt the people I love,” for example are usually at the forefront of the mind, so the last thing one in a state of suicidal overwhelm will think of doing is to ask anyone for help. That action just compounds the feelings of being a burden.
So what IS there we can do with the slight knowledge we do have?
Well, let’s first talk about what NOT to do:
Do not ever shame a person who suffers from mental illness, even if it is behind their back. Shame can look a few ways...
Read more at Women You Should Know.
http://www.womenyoushouldknow.net/stop-telling-us-to-ask-for-help-depression-doesnt-work-like-that/
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