Depression, Suicide and Stigma

The apparent suicide of a public figure, while incredibly sad, brings mental health stigma into sharp focus.

The media exploded with speculation and debate about mental health issues and suicide at the weekend. The immediate, emotional reactions to the subject - raw, without the application of the usual politically correct filter - gave a brief snapshot of true attitudes toward mental illness. And it was quite shocking.

"What have you got to be depressed about? You have a great life!"

You may as well be saying to an asthmatic, "What do you mean you can't breathe? There's lots of air in here!"

But so many people still do not understand that.

It's right there, in the negative language. Referring to someone as having "committed" suicide - although it is not a crime in the UK. That someone has "left behind" a family - implying guilt and selfishness. That it is "a waste" - suggesting that something has been selfishly discarded without a second thought.

This kind of unabashed judgement of a desperate act has no place in our society.

I'm just as cautious as anyone when it comes to being open about my illness. I often talk about my more minor symptoms - the forgetfulness, certain aspects of OCD, certain aspects of mood disorder - but I rarely discuss the really dark side of things. The really disturbing, scary stuff I save for the professionals, simply because I know people will either avoid me or treat me differently. But I do talk to medical professionals when necessary, although many more are not yet ready to do that. And who can blame them?

There are many organisations doing sterling work across the UK, such as the Mental Health Foundation (mentalhealth.org.uk), Rethink (rethink.org), Time To Change (time-to-change.org.uk), SANE (sane.org.uk), Mind (mind.org.uk), and our own Mental Healthy.co.uk - working hard to educate people and combat mental health stigma. But so many people still seem unwilling to accept Depression as an illness.

The media have guidelines when it comes to reporting and discussing suicide (http://www.samaritans.org/media_centre/media_guidelines.aspx), but nowhere does it say it should be referred to as "death resulting from complications arising from severe illness" - which is what it is. Preventable and avoidable, if people are given the space and respect to allow them to feel comfortable enough to open up and talk about it.

So, let's encourage others to watch their language, while using our own to better effect. That way, we can help everybody.

Sarah

I strongly urge anyone experiencing low mood or emotional distress (or anyone concerned about anyone experiencing such things) to contact The Samaritans:

samaritans.org

UK tel: 08457 90 90 90 (24hrs)

ROI tel: 1850 60 90 90 (24hrs)

Email: [email protected]

Postal address: Chris, PO Box 9090, Stirling, FK8 2SA