Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Depression.. the worst foe of all..

Looking at websites on this topic is depressing in itself.

For US$15, you can get a 30 day course comprising a collection of CDs. Telephone and video conference counselling is available. This method saves any effort on the part of the 'counsellor' and removes any personal touch at all. One on one and group counselling is there for you as long as you can drive five hours each way because there is no counselling service in your home town or even close.

The primary treatment for most depressive illness is medication of some form. It doesn't make the problems go away but sure as hell makes it harder for you to think about them. The CD courses most likely have some soft voice telling you about breathing exercises, and that nothing is as bad as it looks. 'Next patient, please'. Yeah right.

What about the people who know exactly why they are depressed but can't do a damn thing about it? What about the people who for whatever reason are not eligible for help? What about the people who have absolutely nobody who will listen, and are not eligible for help?

Online assessments ask a bunch of questions, and after having answered all of them, send you an e-mail telling you that 'you need help bad, man'. I know that already, morons, but I am neither eligible for help nor do I have anbody at all who will listen or who wants to get involved that is in a position to help.

Depression isn't going to go away any time soon, not for me and not for thousands of others like me. We are the forgotten statistics, those who are not eligible to be counted, those whose only way out is a high bridge over a river or busy highway.

Spare a thought for people like us. We don't mean to spoil the life of the driver in the car, truck or boat who sees us after we hit the surface. We don't want to put others to the trouble of cleaning up the resultant mess. We don't want to die at all, but what the hell else is there?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Strangely enough, we seem to agree...

More or less.