For all the people on here who have stated they are on anti-depressants, I'm sure there are more people who won't disclose such information. This issue, more than any other I think, makes me wonder what went wrong with Western society. Personally, I put it down to a lack of family support. Whereas in times gone by and in other cultures, there is a network of extended family to help people deal with problems, nowadays people rush about, move away from home, and are pressured into unrealistic expectations (even if these expectations seem trivial to the outsider).
I really hope all those people on anti-depressants on here manage to beat their demons. It's a really awful place to be.
I also think we use the term too flippantly and freely these days. I recently heard Robbie Savage mentioned he suffered from depression during his football career. Was this actually clinically diagnosed or his interpretation/description of a period in his life when he was feeling low? I do not know.
I am not for one minute wanting to belittle the illness, or make any statements about any individual's illness. Far from it. I work in neuroscience, my mother suffered and one of my best friends changed dramatically from a fun loving upwardly moving professional and family man. I am glad it is something which can be talked about openly but, I do feel in some cases there is a need for the public to better understand what the term depression actually fully means and entails-I'm not sure this is always the case.
