'It's got to be more than 'just' depression'

[onetimeposter]

I have heard this saying loads of times and would like to discuss it.
So many people with depression saying it can't 'just' be depression.
Obviously some people go on to be diagnosed with more 'serious' and less common disorders, but for others they genuinely do have depression.
I think that raising awareness of mental illness and mental health is a great thing but I wonder if the fact that depression and anxiety are now seen as common and something everyone goes through at some point means that those who do have depression see themselves as different, or worse, because if everyone has depression, then it isn't that bad, so they must have something else.
It is as though it is no longer recognised that depression is utterly horrific, it kills people through bad lifestyle behaviours and through suicide.
I read a post on here about someone asking about if anyone had bipolar without the highs, trying to seek a more serious label for they symptoms of depression. Of course-depression has no highs. It is awful.
I suppose I'm wanting to know people's views on both points. Firstly, if so called mental health awareness has done anything to help people with the 'common' mental health conditions of anxiety and depression. Such as the 'talk about it' campaigns etc. Having a cuppa and telling someone you're down seems so trite for someone with depression.
Second, I wonder if people with depression would still search for more meaningful labels, if we actually sat back and saw it for the hell that it is.
I haven't put that very eloquently, I hope it makes sense. I thought a discussion would be useful, as it's something I've seen time and time again, and usually, it is, actually depression.

I wonder if the readiness of GPs to send someone away with a prescription for SSRIs actually contribute to the problem.
What do people think?

Agree with this and I also think the conditions of anxiety and depression should have different names. People use the word depression to mean sadness or low mood as opposed to the medical depression, they use anxiety for simple worries that anyone might have, they also use"OCD" for being very tidy or organised or not liking disorder. By overusing these terms we make them seem minor when actually these mental health conditions are a huge cause of death (mainly suicide) and should be seen as the serious, debilitating and life threatening conditions that they are

think the conditions of anxiety and depression should have different names

Attention seekers will just appropriate whatever new name you give the conditions.

YANBU op.

I say this as someone with type 1 bipolar, who is, I think, viewed as privileged by many people with depression.
For one, I have instant access to the severe mental illness team, whenever I need it, forever. I have had access to psychology at a speedy rate, and plans in place for every aspect of life.
I mainly get manias and psychosis. Some episodes of depression but not they crying type. I'm catatonic and hear voices.
So I don't have much insight into 'just' depression, it looks hellish. But for those people they seem to want something 'more'.
I think it may be about two things. First validation that things are really awful, not just everyday, for every other person awful. To be unique and have something unique. That means being listened to and believed.
Second, I think access to services needs a radical overhaul, but unfortunately, this is resource driven and focuses on the most 'ill'-the psychotic illnesses being seen as most severe.
Yet my manias, don't distress me nearly as much as depression distresses someone else.
I also note how many posters on the MH part of the site use terms like 'clinical' or 'severe' or 'enduring' depression to differentiate themselves from having 'normal' depression.

It's like if everyone has depression, depression isn't an illness.

There’s a campaign to get depressed people to just have a cup of tea and talk about it? . No wonder people with depression thing it must be more than that if campaigns are pretending that it can be overcome by having a little chat.

I can totally understand why someone would seek a label that's taken more seriously. DH has a diagnosis of type 2 bipolar, so for him it's the deep depression states that are the largest problem. His highs are more hypomania than a serious mania state, and while I think they're worrying and not his normal "happy state", he actively enjoys them and gets a lot more done (because for once he feels brilliant and can do everything brilliantly, and who needs sleep anyway?!).

He's had the periods of serious depression since he was a teenager, but no matter how bad they ever got, no one ever took it seriously until there was a bipolar label attached to him. The depression hasn't changed - only his diagnosis. He actually copes much better with them these days (years of learning coping mechanisms, better self-knowledge, meds, etc), yet when he was younger and really really not coping, there wasn't much anyone was willing to offer him in terms of support. It was "just" depression, and everyone gets that, right? ADs made him hypomanic and unsafe and didn't stop the depression from returning, and computerised short-term CBT didn't magically fix him, and that was the end of the tool box. Whereas with his current label he's under a psychiatrist, who can be called if things get bad, and had regular appointments just to check how he's doing.

I agree one.
But then the same will happen, bipolar is already seen as highly common and the diagnosis used for any erratic behaviour.
I did know someone whose bipolar diagnosis was replaced by bpd. Now that triggered an attitude shift by services.
'Just' depression is ignored unless with severe self harm and a suicide attempt.
Even then, women are more likely to be given a PD label than a mood disorder one.