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The word 'depression' is hopelessly overused these days. I often hear people talking about being depressed听when their football team loses. What they mean is that they're a bit cheesed off. If they really had depression, sadly, the last thing they would want to do is admit to it in public.
In the 19 years I've been a GP, I've seen a huge rise in the number of people suffering 'real' depression - the kind that at best affects your life and at worst makes it impossible to function. As we saw in Ruby Wax's film (watch it听here), women suffer more commonly than men, and they seem to have special problems in their forties and fifties.
It's hard to pinpoint why. Women are more likely to be juggling a family and career than they were before, and at the same time the media is full of stories about 'superwomen' who听juggle galas, high-powered office meetings听and motherhood with ease. It's hardly surprising that we are unrealistic about what we expect of ourselves. We're also meant to breeze through the menopause - yet the hormone changes can make you anxious and weepy. There may also be other major changes in your life at this time - kids moving out of home, problems talking to your husband.
Depression is a vicious illness. One of the most common symptoms is a feeling of hopelessness. The fact that employers are often unsympathetic to mental health problems makes admitting to it even harder. And if that attitude prevails, I can see more and more women battling on in silence until they reach crisis point.
So if you feel like you can't cope, please make an appointment with your GP. We will understand what you're going through, and nobody will tell you to pull yourself together. There is more help in the form of counselling than ever before, and even if getting the right counselling can still be a lottery, it has to be better than suffering in silence.
See also:
Dr Sarah Jarvis' blog on the depression taboo
More from Ruby Wax on 大象传媒 Headroom
What do you think? Why do so many women brush the condition under the carpet? And are mental health problems more widespread than we'd like to think? Add your comments.
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