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Depression

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Happy Pills and other myths

Mental health

Suffering from depression is hard. It’s possibly one of the toughest illnesses out there because it corrodes your very core, your self-esteem, your connection with others. Help is available. I tell my patients that together we will always win against depression, even if the path is rocky. I make use of many modalities to treat depression: therapy, diet, exercise, creative and spiritual outlets, and medication. Medication is a godsend in the management of depression. Yet it is the modality that carries with it the most resistance and false preconceptions. Some of the questions my patients most frequently ask are: Is it…

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Suicide – the truth about Romeo and Juliet

Serious mental illness

Suicide Prevention Day was 10 September. Since then there have been an average of 23 reported suicides in South Africa per day. Tragically, teens are increasingly at risk, as Cape Town recently bore witness. I am happy to see that recent suicide media coverage is mostly compassionate and sensitive. The message behind Suicide Prevention Day was “a minute to save a life” – that you can save someone’s life by checking in on them. Unfortunately, suicide is also a magnet for sensationalism. Facebook and social media flare up when a suicide occurs within a community. Excessive coverage of celebrity suicides…

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Drained of all colour: What is depression?

Serious mental illness

Depression is a difficult concept to understand. We use the term loosely every day: “that movie was so depressing,” or, “I feel so depressed when I think of Cape Town’s water situation”. In this context depression is a normal, healthy part of the human experience. From an evolutionary perspective, depression could even be normal and necessary. Consider the baby bear who lost his mother. First, there is crying and wailing  (separation anxiety), in the hope of calling the mother to him. Then there is silent resignation and withdrawal (depression). The cub curls into a ball and barely moves, so as…

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What if depression was not an illness of the brain?

Mental health

At med school, I learnt that depression is an illness of the brain. When we properly treat it with the correct medication, we restore imbalances and patients get better. Depression as a brain illness is a useful model. Many of my patients come seeking help, deeply ashamed of their depression, as if it is a character flaw. When I say that the brain is an organ and can get sick like any other organ in the body, it often helps to get past all the judgemental, self-critical chatter. The longer I am in this game, the more I realise that…

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