Depression Myths and Misconceptions - Part 2

This article in 2 parts will explore some common myths and misconceptions about depression. In order to overcome depression, first it is essential that you understand it.

(Please see the article Depression Myths and Misconceptions Part 1. by the same author for more on this.)

1. Depression is a biological illness.

You may be interested to know that the World Health Organisation, the global body responsible for defining disease states, does not currently recognize depression as a disease.

At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, its important to realise that the concept that depression is an illness has been "sold" to the general public by groups who have much to gain from this promotion. Firstly, the pharmaceutical industry derives billions of dollars in drug sales from the depression market and yes you will be sad to know that they very much see depression as a market. The way the pharmaceutical industry views depression is as a business. It has market shares, market growth and other market statistics. These medications are aggressively marketed to healthcare professionals in order to drive sales.

Secondly, the medical profession uses the idea that depression is an illness both to support the pharmaceutical industry which in turn supports them and also to absolve them of the responsibility of educating themselves more thoroughly on the condition and taking the considerable time and effort to construct appropriate (non - medication based) treatment methods and recommendations.

The third main offending body is consumer advocacy groups. By calling depression an illness it conveniently reduces or removes any responsibility for the condition from the sufferer and allows them to be a helpless victim. Some depression sufferers actually prefer it this way as it means that if nothing can be done about it then theres no point trying and not trying is much easier than having to take action.

This being said, its also important to note that not all of these institutions can be tarred with the same brush. There are many excellent health care professionals who do take the time and effort to educate themselves and provide appropriate care for their patients.

2. Medication is the best treatment for depression.

"For at least to decades there has been conclusive evidence that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is just as effective as medication in the treatment of depression (Strossal & Robinson 2010)."

Interestingly, when the goal is to prevent future episodes of depression, research suggests that CBT is a more robust approach that has a greater chance of achieving this over time.

Why then do we continue to hear that medication is the best approach? Well, undoubtedly due to the ideas raised in point 4. of this article above. As, depression is something that can sometimes recur in a persons life, it would seem prudent that the best course of action would be to use a method that achieves, superior longer term results and avoids many unpleasant side effects also. There is also recent evidence that cognitive behavioural therapy can achieve results just as quickly as medication.

To make things worse, many of the advertisements for anti depressant medications seem to imply that taking them is all you have to do to achieve a fantastic, happy and satisfying life. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is true that some people find benefits in medication however if you are looking for the safest and most sustainable approach then cognitive behavioural therapy combined with a combination of other health and wellbeing based activities seems to be the best alternative according to clinical evidence.

3. Depression is something you have.

Many depression sufferers see depression as something that has happened to them, as if just out of the blue and by chance. It can be considered unhelpful to think about depression in this way as this implies that the sufferer had absolutely no influence over the development of the depression in the first place. This is what can be referred to as a victim mentality.

Another, perhaps more useful and empowering way to look at it might be for the sufferer to consider which of their own actions or behaviours may have led them down this path in the first place.

Once you understand what depression is, the myths and misconception associated with it and how it operates, you are in an excellent position to do something about it.

For more information about overcoming depression visit: http://depression-help-fast.org

Matt Oliveri is a former depression sufferer who now helps others to overcome their depression. Matt achieves these results using an effective combination of easy to access and understand online videos and clinically designed and tested PDF Help-sheets. Matt also refers people to appropriate counseling services when required. Matt lives in sunny Sydney, Australia.