Could it be that there is another kind of prejudice when it comes to depression?
The first is the obvious - misinformed or very narrow minded people who are judgemental etc but what about the people with depression. I would assume, only a newbie to it, that it would be like a brother or sisterhood - we are all in this together type of thing - a community of understanding. However, the other day I was proved dramatically wrong.
I was home sick after a trip to the hospital with the lovely China belly when a friend came over to pay a visit - such a lovely thought. We got to catching up as we had both been away to our home countries at Chinese New Year and I went on to tell her about what had happened. Now, I haven't told too many people and as she has been a constant friend since I arrived, I thought it would be the best thing to do as she is pretty straight up and a good confidante.
She promptly asked me what medication I was on, was it a mood enhancer or an anti depressant, abruptly asked me how many milligrams and then promptly told me that I was on nothing and her dose was massive and had been ongoing for 7 years or more..............and if I told anyone she would kill me!
Ok, I thought......ummmm.....hmmmmmm........how bad did I feel - not only did I not have answers to some of those questions but I felt like a child being teased in the play ground:
'My depression is worse than yours!', she calls! 'I'm on a higher dose than you' - 'You are such an exaggerator, why are YOU on the pills?'
Luckily I was able to brush off this comment, realise that it is just her personality and still (a little uncomfortably) realise that yes, I am glad I am on pills, because now my barriers are a little higher and I can accept this criticism and just laugh at it!
Depression prejudice - I just laugh!
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