Here was Janet Street Porter writing about depression at the weekend:
There's a big black cloud hanging over parts of the UK, and it's not going away. Not volcanic ash - but depression. This relatively new ailment appeared on my radar a couple of years ago, when I discovered that more and more women were claiming they suffered from 'stress'.
The misery movement has rapidly gathered momentum and in recent months it's become apparent that [the] latest must-have accessory is a big dose of depression.
I'm not sure which is worse: her complete ignorance ("relatively new ailment") of something that affects approximately 1 in 4 of the population, or the fact she doesn't think it's real.
Either way, the reality is very, very different:
There's no doubt that I do have extremes of mood that are greater than just about anybody else I know[.] My mind was full of questions. Am I now mad? How have I got this illness, could it have been prevented, can I be cured of it? Since then, I have discovered just how serious it is to have bipolarity, or manic depression as it's also called. Four million others in the UK have it and many of them end up killing themselves.
I wouldn't wish depression on anyone. But I may make an exception in Ms Street-Porter's case. Everyone deserves an education, after all ;-)
In all seriousness, a dangerous piece of "journalism". I hope she is confronted by the realities of depression soon - not her own (I'm not really that vindictive), but other people's.
Here is an perspective on the cause of the depression epidemic that probably few people will have even considered: many cases may be caused by an infectious agent.
I caught a virus (that also spread around my social connections), and without any doubt, precipitated mental state change in many of those who caught it. Increased susceptibly to stress appeared in many of the infectees. Fatigue, lethargy and depression were also common, as were increased memory problems. All suddenly appearing, in many people, soon after catching this infection.
For those interested in this, see here:
Epidemic Depression Virus