To the editor:
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I became depressed in my late teens, in the 60s. The professionals who treated me evaded or ignored my questions about what depression is, what causes it, and what the probable outcome is. They did not explain their approach to depression, and they were frustratingly laconic and passive with me. It seems axiomatic that a depressed person cannot be treated in isolation, but they weren’t interested in whether my family was supportive toward me in my illness. (My family criticized me as “just utterly selfish.”) When the professionals ended my treatment after a few months, I wasn’t feeling any better. I concluded that I would drag through the rest of my life feeling the same way, barely functioning. I hoped I would not have to live long. Otherwise, I had no hope.
Now I’m even more angry with the professionals. It seems to me that there should be a checklist of questions to ask or features of good mental health to look for, like the vital signs that physicians look for when treating injury or illness. For example, does the person have supportive relationships? a positive self-image? skills in communicating appropriately and relating to others? I think a professional should have guided me to discover the family conflicts that I had been denying. I didn’t have to waste three years of my life.
