by Lucius Trae

Created on: August 11, 2010

Depression is a controversial topic, and the condition affects many people around the world. To say that society is "taking the wrong approach with respect to depression" is rather bold. The reason it's bold is because society is full of many people, and they aren't all considering depression the same way. Even amongst psychiatrists, psychologists, and other experts, there is some disagreement over what methodologies are most effective for treating depression.

Personally, learning the opinions others hold about depression has, in many cases, led me to become quite angry. Those with depression can have other issues, but getting angry doesn't require a mental illness, either. Why would someone with depression find its discussion irritating? Well, there are a lot of reasons. A lot of religious groups think they have the solution, and the evidence is quite clear. Even if religion has helped some people with their depression, it is clearly not necessary to deal with the illness. Scientology is a notorious culprit, but there are people from all denominations who claim to have an answer.

Even worse, many people deny depression is a medical condition. They should meet with the flat earth society because it's been well established as a condition. People wonder how ancient societies denied clear evidence supporting scientific conclusions, but they don't need to turn to history to be confused. People think they've suffered from depression because they've been sad, but depression has an inexplicable component to it. It's more than persistent sadness. Those who claim depression is weakness, for instance, contribute to the further unhappiness of depressed individuals. They are also responsible for promoting an attitude of ignorance that leads to poor funding for mental health programs and a lack of support for depressed individuals.

For awhile, people have gotten behind the anti-medication bandwagon. Scientology is disproportionately wealthy for their membership base, and they are partially responsible for turning people against antidepressants. Furthermore, the economic costs associated with medication, particularly in America, makes people more sympathetic to the idea that the medications are bad. More specifically, people who can't afford medications just decide that they don't need those medications anyway. The opposite is true when people can afford things. That new $100 pair of shoes wasn't needed, but when they make a million a year, they decide it is. Otherwise,

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