Steve – The best psychologist I had didn’t blame me or society for my depression. He said it was brain disease the could be helped with medication and talk therapy. I see the modern medical viewpoint changing and with every change comes the good and bad. We need to identify both in order to focus on what works. I see you do that and I’m thankful to you.
Excellent points, Steve, very insightful for me. I have suffered much thought my life but I know it’s all relative. I tried to take my life only when I was clinically depressed. My situation in life was actually very good at that point – had my own business, financially set, great wife and kids, nice house on the hill overlooking a forest preserve and I fit in very well. I never remotely considered suicide in the past. So how was this different? My disease, depression, made me feel like I had no idea who I was. I couldn’t deal with the notion I would have to live like that the rest of my life. I didn’t believe I had a choice because my disease convinced me there was no hope. I didn’t mean to cherry pick but wanted to provide an alternative perspective to your well thought out comments. I hope my experience is of value to others and although I can’t speak for Lincoln, I feel like his words are mine.
Then again some committed suicide. Lincoln said, ” I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth. Whether I shall ever be better I can not tell; I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible; I must die or be better, it appears to me.”
Tough situation without any good answers. Stigma is a strong force that continues to cause people to lose their jobs. If your job environment was accepting, I guarantee you would find others that also have struggled with mental illness, maybe even those in leadership positions. Then again, no one is entitled to your medical history except you and that should not be a factor considered when evaluating your current job performance. So be careful but be open to the possibilities. Hope this helps.
I have a different perspective on siting famous people in efforts to reduce stigma. I was a very successful person when mental illness stuck and felt a ton of guilt as a result. Knowing other successful people also struggled, that mental illness doesn’t discriminate, helped me to accept my condition. It’s fascinating that I use Ron’s exact two comments from his article in my presentation explaining my lived experience.
Steve: Certainly Mr. Joseph has done a good job in this article of debunking twin research. The latest science is from a team of research scientists at Department of Genetics at the Harvard Medical School. I believe these studies have no comparison and Mr. Joseph would probably agree. I have not seen any reply from him to my comments as yet.
Yes NAMI is a front for thousands of peer volunteers across the country that do good work every day to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. As a volunteer, I have no connection to the pharma industry, I’m not exploited or parrot any message, other than my own personal experience of recovery. I invite you and any concerned person to visit your local NAMI office, meet the people there and make up your own mind. You will find people with many opinions and probably some that agree with you, if that is what you are looking for.
Do you screen for depression as part of your practice?
Take responsibility for your own mental health. Are you really worried about being polite and negative? Wonder no longer and have the courage to take action.
Just tell your physician no. Refuse to answer his questions. If he has problems with that, get a new physician. Is any other kind of screening for medical conditions mandatory? I take responsibility for my own mental health and have no problem with depression screening.
The insanity and stupidity ends with you. The amount of information on health issues available to the public is incredible. This includes not only information of medications but reviews of physicians. So you can know more than your physician, who is busy seeing patients to make a living. “And God help us” – maybe she already is.
Why is depression screening any different than cancer, diabetes or heart disease screening? Depression screening gives me the information I need to make good health decisions for myself. Its a start and what it leads to is my responsibility, not any healthcare professional. The lack of quality care argument reminds me of the saying “cut off your nose off to spite your face.” Should I ignore the symptoms of depression because I might not be able to get quality care? Maybe depression screening will help to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and help get the suffering the care they deserve. I’m interested to know if the author provides depression screening as part of his practice.
Would it make sense when calling law enforcement to ask if Crisis Intervention Trained staff will be dispatched? More and more police departments are adding CIT to their training – some even require it for all officers.
Steve – The best psychologist I had didn’t blame me or society for my depression. He said it was brain disease the could be helped with medication and talk therapy. I see the modern medical viewpoint changing and with every change comes the good and bad. We need to identify both in order to focus on what works. I see you do that and I’m thankful to you.
Excellent points, Steve, very insightful for me. I have suffered much thought my life but I know it’s all relative. I tried to take my life only when I was clinically depressed. My situation in life was actually very good at that point – had my own business, financially set, great wife and kids, nice house on the hill overlooking a forest preserve and I fit in very well. I never remotely considered suicide in the past. So how was this different? My disease, depression, made me feel like I had no idea who I was. I couldn’t deal with the notion I would have to live like that the rest of my life. I didn’t believe I had a choice because my disease convinced me there was no hope. I didn’t mean to cherry pick but wanted to provide an alternative perspective to your well thought out comments. I hope my experience is of value to others and although I can’t speak for Lincoln, I feel like his words are mine.
Then again some committed suicide. Lincoln said, ” I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth. Whether I shall ever be better I can not tell; I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible; I must die or be better, it appears to me.”
Tough situation without any good answers. Stigma is a strong force that continues to cause people to lose their jobs. If your job environment was accepting, I guarantee you would find others that also have struggled with mental illness, maybe even those in leadership positions. Then again, no one is entitled to your medical history except you and that should not be a factor considered when evaluating your current job performance. So be careful but be open to the possibilities. Hope this helps.
I have a different perspective on siting famous people in efforts to reduce stigma. I was a very successful person when mental illness stuck and felt a ton of guilt as a result. Knowing other successful people also struggled, that mental illness doesn’t discriminate, helped me to accept my condition. It’s fascinating that I use Ron’s exact two comments from his article in my presentation explaining my lived experience.
Steve: Certainly Mr. Joseph has done a good job in this article of debunking twin research. The latest science is from a team of research scientists at Department of Genetics at the Harvard Medical School. I believe these studies have no comparison and Mr. Joseph would probably agree. I have not seen any reply from him to my comments as yet.
For those that are interested in the latest science on possible genetic causes of schizophrenia, here is an NIH funded research study – https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/schizophrenias-strongest-known-genetic-risk-deconstructed
Yes NAMI is a front for thousands of peer volunteers across the country that do good work every day to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. As a volunteer, I have no connection to the pharma industry, I’m not exploited or parrot any message, other than my own personal experience of recovery. I invite you and any concerned person to visit your local NAMI office, meet the people there and make up your own mind. You will find people with many opinions and probably some that agree with you, if that is what you are looking for.
Do you screen for depression as part of your practice?
Take responsibility for your own mental health. Are you really worried about being polite and negative? Wonder no longer and have the courage to take action.
Just tell your physician no. Refuse to answer his questions. If he has problems with that, get a new physician. Is any other kind of screening for medical conditions mandatory? I take responsibility for my own mental health and have no problem with depression screening.
The insanity and stupidity ends with you. The amount of information on health issues available to the public is incredible. This includes not only information of medications but reviews of physicians. So you can know more than your physician, who is busy seeing patients to make a living. “And God help us” – maybe she already is.
Why is depression screening any different than cancer, diabetes or heart disease screening? Depression screening gives me the information I need to make good health decisions for myself. Its a start and what it leads to is my responsibility, not any healthcare professional. The lack of quality care argument reminds me of the saying “cut off your nose off to spite your face.” Should I ignore the symptoms of depression because I might not be able to get quality care? Maybe depression screening will help to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and help get the suffering the care they deserve. I’m interested to know if the author provides depression screening as part of his practice.
Would it make sense when calling law enforcement to ask if Crisis Intervention Trained staff will be dispatched? More and more police departments are adding CIT to their training – some even require it for all officers.