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WE’VE COME A long way in recent times in our ability to talk about mental health. Increasingly people are able to admit when they’re struggling, to realise that they need help, and we’re slowly, albeit too slowly for my liking, chipping away at the stigma that surrounds mental illness.
But then something like this pops up.
I came across this poster just last week in a GP waiting room, and have to admit I was shocked, and so incredibly disappointed. I thought when I sat down to write this that it would be easy, I’ve certainly given it considerable thought in the days since I first saw it. Honestly though, the more I look at this image, the more confused I am about where to even begin with all that’s wrong with it and all that it implies.
How is this helpful?
Let’s take the obvious one. Depression is classed by Pfizer, a major multinational who carry huge influence, as an ‘embarrassing problem’. I’ve blacked out the other issues they’ve included on this list as depression is the only one I’m in a position to comment on, but suffice to say, none of them should be considered embarrassing.
How is this helpful? I’ve been very open about my mental health issues for quite some time, and I still felt a pang of shame when I saw this. An embarrassing problem is something that you hide, right? Something that you don’t want people to know about for fear of being laughed at, judged, ridiculed. So by extension, the problem itself is shameful. It is this very belief that has caused so many people to struggle for far, far longer than necessary over the years.
I get the sentiment behind the poster. I think. Yes, depression is incredibly difficult to talk about, as is any mental illness, and yes, a lot of people are still intensely ashamed of being depressed – so it could be argued that the poster is trying to speak to these people, and encourage them to reach out for help. I’d like to think that’s what they were going for. Then of course there’s the cynical view. Have an embarrassing problem? We have a pill for that! Call me naive but I’d like to think that’s not what they were going for.
I’m by no means anti-medication, it’s one of a combination of treatments that has kept me alive over the years, and I continue to take psychiatric medication. But this kind of marketing is profoundly unhelpful. What if they had just had a list of difficult problems? Wouldn’t that make it even a little more socially acceptable?
We are our body and our mind – the two can’t be separated
I think what really bothered me about this poster, quite apart from describing depression as ‘embarrassing’, is the fact that it demonstrates once more just how far we have to go before we’re able to accept that mental illness is just that, an illness.
When we talk about physical illnesses, we don’t describe them that way, we just name the illness and that’s that. So why does it have to be different with mental illness? Do we really need two distinct categories? We are our body and our mind, the two can’t be separated. What affects one, affects the other.
I would love to believe that we are on the road to a future where that distinction is no longer relevant, but it is going to be such a long journey. We’ve made a good start, there’s no doubt about that, but mental health needs to stay on the agenda until it becomes just ‘health’. We need to get to a point where it’s as easy to say ‘I have depression’ as it is to say ‘I have the flu’.
I realise that what I’m hoping for is a monumental cultural mindshift but just think – 30 years ago cancer was spoken about in whispers and behind closed doors. And now? It’s just part of life. A difficult one, but a part of it nonetheless, and one that can’t be ignored. Hopefully it won’t take another 30 years to bring about the same change for mental illness.
Fiona Kennedy is a 30(ish) year old, happily married, mam of two, living in a small town in Connemara. She has two crazy dogs, wonderful friends and a loving, supportive family. Oh, and clinical depression. She blogs at Sunny Spells and Scattered Showers. You can follow her on Facebook or Twitter @SunnyScattered. Fiona is an Ambassador for See Change – a national movement to change minds about mental health, one conversation at a time’.
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Just because you think it shouldn’t be embarrassing doesn’t mean it isn’t. A lot of people are still afraid to tell an employer or even close friends that they suffer from depression. That definitely shouldn’t be the case and things are getting better but this is where we are at the moment. I wouldn’t be getting worked up over a sign!
People need to understand that it’s not the illness that’s embarrassing it’s people’s reactions. I have depression, not embarrassed at all. I don’t tell people. Is it because I am embarrassed to tell them about having an illness? No. To me it’s just an illness, like someone with diabetes or something, I have depression. Now if someone told you or me they had diabetes, I may comment that it sucks but beyond that I will not treat them differently, ask them a million questions etc. But if I say I have depression, the person who hears may and tend to act differently, walk on egg shells around me etc etc. That’s what I fear, the reaction. I’m not embarrassed to have depression, it does not define me. Sadly, it would be how others define me and that’s what I fear.
Look depression still has a stigma and some people feel embarrassed coming forward. If a poster helps then it helps end of.
Fiona.
I agree with you that we need a societal shift in attitude to metal illness and illness in general.
However. I feel you misinterpreted that poster.
To my mind, it is listing a number of conditions patients can often be too embarrassed to bring to the attention of their GP. In the bottom paragraph it reminds patients that they are not alone and that they need to talk to their GP.
It’s not saying you should feel embarrassed, it is saying talk to your GP about it because it correctly assumes that many sufferers are afraid of the stigma attached to it. It’s a deplorable reality but ignoring it and pretending that patients don’t find it embarrassing anymore might not help spur them into action like encouraging them not to feel embarrassed would.
You are right in what the poster message was TRYING to get across.
However it was badly worded and easily misinterpreted. It fails to change society’s and those afflicted’s views on this.
Not necessarily. In my opinion, It’s trying to get patients to take action and seek help for their condition. It’s more focused on targeting the patients outlook on the condition and trying to spur them to take action and hopefully change it rather than change societal wide attitudes.
Embarrassing is probably the most effective term to use in achieving this as i’d wager the majority of people suffering from depression in silence would describe it as exactly that. If the poster speaks to how they are feeling, they are more likely to pay attention and hopefully act upon it’s message. If it listed “difficult” problems instead, i’m not sure it would have the same impact as it doesn’t describe what the patient themselves are feeling as accurately.
Other than the possibility of getting 6 sessions of counseling through the CIPC service, what can the GP do ? Give the person a pill that will “rebalance neurotransmitters” ? There is no such pill. Refer you to the Psychiatric service ? May help some but biggest mistake of my life was allowing this referral. I went looking for CBT and they nearly destroyed me !
If a person is depressed is a busy GP surgery the best place to be? That should be a debate and carried out publicly. I personally wouldn’t go near them, except for a physical ailment. At the same time it is important to keep safe if a person is suicidal. A trusted friend who will listen non-judgmentally is a priceless asset. And there is also the Samaritans ~ 116 123. If a person has some money they could go for private therapy. Or there is also low cost counseling out there.
Another great asset is to learn about WRAP and to have a WRAP plan (Wellness Recovery Action Plan). www,mentalhealthrecovery.com and there is also a WRAP App https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BK_jLMToeM The 5 key concepts of WRAP are: Hope, Personal Responsibility, Self-advocacy, Education and SUPPORT.
Coming up to the Christmas with lots of parties, people need to be careful with alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant for some. I also need to be aware of my triggers. That can sometimes sadly even include family, so it’s best to try to avoid any conflict with them, hard as that may be at times. Yoga, meditation, mindfulness etc can also help.
Exercise and getting out in the daylight is also important. As daylight regulates melatonin and sleep. For me sleep is key in order to stay well but I also struggle with it.
My gp has saved my hyde on many occasions. As have other general practitioners I have seen. They are compassionate and do try to navigate the best way forward.
While I greatly appreciate the work the Samaritans do – actually if u are feeling very realistically like taking your own life – u need more than someone to just listen to u vent. And they don’t offer that. All those things u mention, have their place.
But talking to your gp has it’s place too, and I think what some of the others on here are saying, is true. It can be very embarrassing to tell someone the things going on in your head.
Why are Pfizer allowed hang their agenda-laden propaganda in places like GP surgeries in the first place?
- It’s already bad enough that the Pharma sector bribes GPs to prescribe their products excessively and offers them compensation for same via free hotel breaks etc….
* Note I am certainly not saying that Pfizer engages in this practice as I am not aware what this company specifically does or does not do….
@Mary Glad that you have had a positive experience. For me trust was broken and when trust is gone, it’s gone. But it was just as much a cultural and societal issue as the actions of just one person or group of people. Won’t go into the detail on somewhere like here but if the biomedical model is working then suicide would not be so common. We are definitely not getting access to the true official figures.
Last night I was sitting with an 8 year old girl who was curled up in the corner of the room at a party. I thought she was just tired but it turns out that her father took his own life this year. I think we need a much better approach than just to tell people “Go to your GP”. Where a person will more than likely get a prescription for an “anti-depressant”/SSRI. This does not address the underlying problem. If anything it only masks it if the problem is deep rooted or has to do with lifestyle etc.
While a GP may save a person, they are business people and can’t be there to hold a person’s hand long term. It is really up to the person or their supporters to have a plan in place long term. Survival strategies and positive coping mechanisms. As at the end of the day we can only save ourselves.
Because I took “anti-depressants” for anxiety / panic, prescribed by GPs, I am now vulnerable to relapses of “depression” eg when certain people in my life are over critical. That is a trigger. A GP won’t be able to fix that. Maybe some therapy can help. But overall the person needs to work on themselves and their own self-awareness of triggers etc. Physical /mental health requires daily work. For some more than others. But then anyone is at risk, given the right circumstances.
I suffer with depression. .but you know what? Im still awesome
Yaaaasssss to this comment!! I too suffer depression and am an awesome mo fo!!!
Every day i tell my self. I am a beautiful person, and i am entitled to my own pain,. I am not ashamed of being depressed.But i am fed up at the dogooders who say, aw you poor thing. Well of late i have been telling them stick their sentiments where the sun dont shine.
Hi depression in bipolar I’m awesome too. No one should feel embarrassed about having a mental illness.
That would assume you want to label yourself as “mentally ill”. A heavy burden in so many ways. I do not like the term and find it unhelpful. It is possible to identify with emotional distress without stigmatizing yourself with the term “mental illness”. Because we still live very much in a society that discriminates.
Aine if you cant admit it to yourself that you have been told that you are suffering from whatever mental illness it is how do you expect anyone else to understand. There is so many mental illnesses BPD, Bipolar, Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, DID, you have a “label” once your diagnosed, you can either let the label rule your life or you can rule your life. Simple really
“Giving someone a Psychiatric diagnosis is an immensely powerful act which has profound implications for their identity, relationships, place in the community, employment, health and future” ~ clinical Psychologist Lucy Johnstone.
People should have a label trust upon them without their consent. It can destroy a person’s life and career. Not to mention affect basic aspects of a person’s life eg mortgage protection.
This is an extract from a paper by a good Psychiatrist called Dr Peter Breggin ~ “DSM-IV-TR (2000) emphasizes that a diagnosis of mania or bipolar disorder should not be made when the hypomania or mania first appears while the individual is taking a medication that can cause these symptoms”.
The Psychiatrist’s could not even follow their own Diagnostic and Statistic manual, such is their incompetence and negligence! With no consideration on long term effects on the person’s life.
Glad that you see it as simple as taking on a label from pseudo Scientists, some who have links to pharma. Hence conflicts of interest. I live in a country that is very green about mainstream Psychiatry. Hence they get away with abuses to this very day.
Glad that you can make a diagnosis over the internet which contradicts a doctor that I met in real life ie that I am not “mentally ill”.
As for people who have been burdened with the label “Schizophrenia”, it would hardly be a good chat up line or something to admit on a first date. How dismissive people can be on here of the weight of a label. “The term ‘Schizophrenia’ is confusing, stigmatizing, and has probably outlived its usefulness” ~ quote from Psychiatrist Dr Allen Frances, chair of the taskforce that wrote the DSM-IV.
@Sabrina For you to claim I am “mentally ill” on TheJournal is stigmatizing and also discrimination. You have not met me and do not know my details. Enjoy ! Commenting on TheJournal definitely feels like a waste of time sometimes because of the lack of knowledge of some. Hoping others may learn. Time to redirect my energy into a book or blog !
Pfizer obviously have a reason for classifying it as “embarrassing” by keeping people away from the things that work in helping depression, things like social interaction, talking, exercise, diet etc they can keep people depressed about their feeling and regularly medicating to alleviate their symptoms as opposed to helping them.
The problem is people with no knowledge or experience of the problem trying to make people feel ashamed or embarrassed about feeling depressed…
Not that a poster is pointing it out. The poster is right people are made to feel embarrassed for having depression particularly in Ireland. Just a few weeks ago I had to check someone on here ‘advising’ to cure depression by cheering up, taking a few walks in the country and you don’t need ‘Dem dere pills’
the illness itself is not embarrassing but people’s reaction to you, when they know or when you start crying is.The trap that depression is, it makes you thing that it is embarrassing , you are embarrassing , so posters like that do not help at all either to the passing by person or the ill person . Statistically what people remember about any commercial like that is the huge capital or highlighted letters. , so the message is Depression is an embarrassing problem.
,
Had to turn off George Hook a few weeks ago after he started dismissing the use of medication to treat mental illness. He shohld have been sacked for that. He has a position of influence, that kind of talk could get people killed.
For rhe depressed and lonely.
Theres no thrill in easy sailing,
When the skies are clear and blue.
Theres no joy in merely doing things,
That anyone else can do.
But there is some satisfaction,
That is mighty sweet to take.
When you reach a destination
That you thought you’d never make…….
On a side note however, these opinion pieces tend to be sensationalized nonsense based off of 1 headline or 1image they see without much further investigation to gain an actual understanding of things. They opinion pieces tend to not really be rational, they hit the keyboard without knowing the facts a lot of times so I would take all this with a pinch if salt and understand that the above poster was made by a pharma company’s marketing team and really one should avoid taking offence from such a trivial thing. Just saying.
I suffer from depression & am allergic to gluten.
Well spotted Fiona, and I disagree with “speak up” that this is a trivial matter. It is indeed a marketing poster (aka “ad”) for Pfizer’s products. Pfizer and similar companies don’t produce these materials out of the goodness of their hearts, but because of market research that suggests they work. The issue is not the effectiveness or otherwise of the products, but the ethical question of whether branded displays should be allowed anywhere in doctor’s premises, whether they are “helpful” posters that suggest things you might mention in your consultation or brochures that claim to offer “support” but are really ads eg the brochures for Aptamil’s “pregnancy club”.
If you see these branded posters and brochures in your GP’s surgery and you object to their presence, please say so. If enough patients complain, doctors may think twice about putting them up. And think also; drug companies wouldn’t be wasting their money on keeping doctors supplied with calenders, post-its, mugs and clicky-pens if they had no effect on prescribing patterns.
Thanks to Fiona for raising this issue.
Regarding another brochure, Lundbeck have sponsored a very nice, glossy brochure that is in my doctors surgery and elsewhere called “Lean on Me”. The brochure is well presented, involves sports stars and has some good information on depression. However, it has a medication section that claims that anti-depressants rebalance neurotransmitters in the brain. There is no scientific evidence to back this up. Most serotonin is in the gut and their as serotonin receptors in the heart and gut also.. Hence the importance of nutrition when trying to keep mentally/physically healthy.
Some people have adverse reactions to these drugs (SSRIs) and they can increase the risk of suicide and violence. SSRIs can also trigger “psychosis” or mania in some, sometimes leading to the label “Bipolar” which can seriously affect a person’s life in so many ways. This is an extract from a paper by a good Psychiatrist called Dr Peter Breggin ~ “DSM-IV-TR (2000) emphasizes that a diagnosis of mania or bipolar disorder should not be made when the hypomania or mania first appears while the individual is taking a medication that can cause these symptoms”. It may be ok for some celebs in Hollywood to take on this label but in “the real world” there is very little glamour associated with it. Plenty of stigma and discrimination though !
It is also claimed on the “Lean on Me” website that “Lundbeck is an international pharmaceutical company that is deeply committed to improving quality of life for persons who have a disease of the central nervous system (CNS), like depression. Lundbeck sponsors the ‘Lean on Me’ campaign with an unrestricted educational grant”. Can they provide evidence that “Depression” is a disease of the central nervous system? While there may be some physical aspect to the symptoms of depression, what about the psychological aspect? They seem to think in a narrow minded way that this is a “disease”.
Some people do claim to benefit from anti-depressants and lucky them. Plus the placebo affect is part of it. Irving Kirsch of Harvard University claims the difference between the effect of a placebo and the effect of an antidepressant is minimal for most people. Not forgetting that with proper SUPPORT symptoms of Depression can sometimes lift and sometimes quite quickly, depending on the person.
“Kirsch’s views are of vital interest to the 17 million Americans who take the drugs, including children as young as six and to the pharmaceutical industry that brings in $11.3 billion a year selling them”.
It was recently reported that the NHS spend €18 billion per annum on prescribed drugs. So the whole industry is big business. One of the biggest in the world. I would like to see less information influenced by “conflicts of interest” and more truly evidence based data. So that patients can have informed consent eg the work done by http://www.cochrane.org/ which was co-founded by Danish Dr Peter Gotzsche.
[Never stop or change medication without talking to a good doctor, due to the dangers of withdrawal. Not everybody has an adverse reaction to the drugs, but some do]
I’m not embarrassed about having depression. The only thing that would make up “embarrassed” about having an illness would be fearing how others would react to the news. And if people were allowed to understand depression properly and not be shoved garbage that that poster in their faces they would understand and the stigma could be removed. I am not embarrassed, ashamed or anything like it of having depression. Why? Because when I realized what was going on I did my research and educated myself. No thanks to the poor services in this country, I did it myself and I wish everyone would take the time to do so because no member or this government is going to actually do anything beyond a sh!tty hashtag to help.
Misinterpreted on purpose to provide zero objectivity,
Depression is a (usually) very treatable illness just like say diabetes – I don’t think anyone should be embarrassed about being diabetic…..or depressed
For anyone suffering from depression, I recommend the http://destroydepression.com system.
Written by a former depression sufferer, it teaches 7 steps which help to eliminate depression from your life.
Fiona, find something sensible to write an article about for God’s sake.
Whatever the poster says or doesn’t say. It is working either way here because it has people just talking about depression.
have your say