WORKING AGAINST DEPRESSION

The last year has been the worst for me in regards to my illness; I have been not working a total of six months (four of these I was between jobs) out of twelve. I left one job due to the intolerable anxiety I was experiencing (related to Bipolar), left another as I believed it was ‘beneath me’ (again, related to Bipolar) and had my current ‘relapse’ soon after I started at a new job. When I am well I am highly productive, the periods of being ‘well’ are just getting shorter & shorter though. I know how it sounds, like I now have the perfect excuse to ‘cop out’ – just blame the Bipolar! I can appreciate what Andrew Johns (an Australian football player who has recently gone public with his Bipolar) is going through.

The future does look hopeful, the psychiatrist I am seeing has assured me that I have been ‘under-treated’ in the past and that I have only been treated for depressive episodes & once the depression has lifted I have tended to discontinue taking antidepressants. Soon, if I am compliant with the treatment, there will be no excuses.

Studies have revealed that depression in the workplace can lead not only to absenteeism but to what has been termed ‘presenteeism’, which includes: increased difficulty in making decisions; decreased productivity; an inability to concentrate; a decline in dependability; unusual increases in errors at work; being prone to accidents; frequent tardiness; and a general lack of enthusiasm for work. Research into depression has found that the average person has depression ten years before it is diagnosed and that sometimes it is not until the third or fourth depressive episode that depression is finally recognised, creating a disease burden that may last for decades in the workplace.

Due to increased community awareness, attitudes towards depression have generally improved over recent years, but as with any illness which is not easily ‘visible’ to the naked eye, doubts as to its authenticity remain. Knowledge is ‘socially constructed’ – it is not merely a product of fact but is shaped by the social and/or cultural contexts in which it emerges. Hence, knowledge is subject to change over time and across different contexts. Depression is largely misunderstood, with past, and in some instances still current, perceptions being that persons who are depressed are ‘lazy’ and are generally ‘unemployable’ along with an underlying fear of being labelled as ‘mad’. A legacy of depression can often be that the sufferer, despite qualifications, may end up in menial employment which further exacerbates their low self esteem.

Recent decades have seen increased efforts be made to address the problem of depression, for example, the theory of biochemical imbalance and the advent of antidepressants have to a certain extent provided people suffering depression with a sense of legitimacy and validation. As a result of this ‘medicalisation’ people who had previously been reluctant to seek assistance for what they perceived to be a personal failing or a character flaw may become more empowered to take action, especially now that treatment options are largely outpatient/primary care focused. Coinciding with this has been widespread media campaigns endeavouring to: a) provide education to increase knowledge and understanding in the community, and b) to ‘normalise’ depression through de-stigmatisation.