Don’t blame depression for the Germanwings tragedy [View all]

[Surya Gayatri]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/27/depression-germanwings-tragedy-pilot-andreas-lubitz-mental-health

Pilot Andreas Lubitz might have suffered from depression, but that doesn’t explain what he did. We are at risk of further demonising those with mental health problems.

News of the Germanwings crash which left 150 dead has, inevitably, led to questions about what went wrong. In the absence of any technical fault, attention has shifted to Andreas Lubitz, the pilot who appears to have deliberately caused the crash. Reports are now suggesting that Lubitz had a history of depression. Predictably, this has resulted in a barrage of stigmatising, fear-mongering media reports, both in the UK and internationally.

Depression is among the most common of mental illnesses, and is experienced by around 20% of adults. Characterised by feelings of guilt, hopelessness and reduced interest in pleasurable activities, it can affect anyone, from manual workers to heads of FTSE companies. Indeed, many successful people have experienced depression – among them Winston Churchill, Charles Dickens and Henri Matisse – and there is virtually no evidence to suggest that the depressed pose a danger to others as a result of their illness. This is true of the full range of mental health problems: the scientific literature is clear that people with schizophrenia, long demonised and reviled by the press, are far more likely to be harmed by others or themselves than to enact violence.

The truth is that people with depression are all around us – they are our teachers and solicitors; our plumbers and health professionals. Data obtained following a recent freedom of information request revealed that more than 40,000 NHS staff took sick leave as a result of stress, anxiety and depression in 2014. Up to 20% of those are likely to be medical doctors; indeed, doctors are significantly more likely to experience depression than the general population. Having depression does not necessarily make you unfit to work, but, based upon the headlines in many of today’s papers you could be forgiven for thinking that it does.
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Media outlets could have used this tragedy to explore the impact of stress and to highlight the need for greater support. Instead some have chosen to vilify Lubitz and, by association, the millions who share his diagnosis. They have taken the easy option. Worse, they have added to the stigmatisation of a group that society already does a superb job of demonising.
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Posting this just to balance out the discussion. In this earlier thread,
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141050533

someone actually accused me of
'calling them (mental patients) all potential murderers'.

Having been under psych treatment myself, nothing could be further from my intentions.