why is depresion such a taboo...

[pud1]

i know this will have been done a thousand times but i just wanted to get the general feeling on why people just dont talk about mh.

i am a very open person ( probably too much) and i have just been put on fluxotene ( dont know the spelling) for mild depression. it has been a wonder. i feel so much better and it has started a snowball of things getting better in my life, i am not as stressed with the dcs so they are calmer, my relationship has improved beyond measure and i am actually known to crack a smile now. since i have been on them i have talked to friends and family about it and have been amazed by the amount of people who are either on them or have been feeling as low as i was. we would not be embarrassed about telling people we take anti-biotics for a physical illness so why not talk about ads in rl.

as i said sorry if this has been done before.

[Crawling]

I also view my mh as private im not going to just walk up to someone and say I have scizoaffective disorder ask me how it effects my life.

Plus I really am struggeling so much with the severity of my own mi that I just cant take negative opinions. Its not worth the risk.

[Crawling]

I also dont think most people would be interested its like my endometriosis I doubt anyone but close family cares.

[amillionyears]

I think a lot of people care in life. Trouble is, it is difficult to tell who, until they are tested out.

[Crawling]

Thats very very true amillionyears

[WithanAnotE]

My boss laughed when I said I was still attending therapy during my 'return to work' interview . I felt totally humiliated. HR staff were also appalling, as in, get rid quick .
I suspect that the, "news" has also been leaked........
Fortunately, my friends have been great.
I agree though with the poster that said it can affect personality. It can be a little daunting when people you know act differently or hallucinate. And, to be fair, it can be very hard work too.

[annach]

I'm glad you started this thread.
I've often wondered the same thing.
But actually, serious illness, physical or mental, is some sort of taboo generally, isn't it? No one wants to hear how ill someone else is, or how difficult illness makes their life. Generally, people don't want others to offload and whine at them because they're only just keeping their own heads above surface, whether they're ill or not, and haven't the surplus energy or empathy to take on anyone else's woes.
Serious physical illness does sometimes change people's personality too. It can make them grumpy or drowsy or dopey or whiney. It's hard work being close to sick people.
But there is a taboo over and above all this. I'm sick of it. Wished today i could ring up a friend and just say: tablets seem to have stopped working and I feel like mud. But we're all on here instead, telling strangers.

[Tensixtysix]

It's because deep down they have it as well and can only deal with theirs.

[quirrelquarrel]

I don't have the feeling it's a taboo, at all. But then I was lucky to grow up in a home environment where we talked freely and honestly about such things when and if the subject arose, so maybe my view is skewed.
But just as people don't go on endlessly about their physical illnesses, you don't go on about depression, but neither would you hesitate to mention it if it were relevant......at least, I doubt you would avoid it for the reason of a potential unfriendly reaction. Because I very much doubt you would get one. It's just not an interesting topic of conversation- problems, so that's why it's not more talked about IMHO.
Agree with springbanana (apart from the last bit- don't want to worship anyone just for being healthy, thanks!).