Myths About Depression

Depression Myths
By Jordan Lite

Wondering how to tell the difference between depression and the blues? Worried that drugs taken to treat the condition will turn you into another person entirely?

There are many myths about depression, which will affect an estimated 32 to 35 million Americans at some point in their lives, according to a 2003 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Read on for eight common misconceptions and what's really true about this disabling condition.

Myth: Depression affects only women.
Fact: Depression can affect anyone.
Depression is nearly twice as common in women as in men, but men still get depressed -- especially as they get older -- and may feel a loss from career changes or the death of a spouse, says Dr. David Sommers, a scientific review officer at the National Institute of Mental Health.

"It is true that depression is more common in women than in men and that women are more likely to seek help than men, but men have trouble with their vulnerability and are more likely to use counterproductive coping strategies," such as alcohol, than to ask for help, Duckworth says.

Depression in guys can also look different than it does in women: Men are more likely to feel tired and irritable and lose interest in work or hobbies, while women tend to feel guilty, sad or worthless, according to the NIMH.

Myth: Depression is an adult problem.
Fact: Children can get depressed, too.
"Depression can happen across the lifespan," Duckworth says.

Some 8 percent of kids ages 12 to 17 suffer a depressive episode, according to the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. But depression can look different in children and teens than it does in adults.

"Teens and children are more likely to show people rather than tell them they're depressed," Duckworth says. "Most adults can identify that they feel down, sad, and not every kid is able to articulate that."

A depressed kid may frequent the school nurse, complaining of bellyaches and headaches, he says, while depressed teens may be irritable and angry.

Myth: Depression isn't a medical problem; you could get over it if you wanted to.
Fact: Depression is a medical problem that can require help to overcome.
"This is a treatable condition and not a right-wrong fault issue. But that is a common misconception," Duckworth says. "Being sad, grieving a loss -- these are not clinical syndromes, but when you have a collection of symptoms that continue for weeks and are associated with sleep problems, negative thoughts, thoughts of suicide -- that's different from being down in the dumps."

The key distinction is how long and how severly you feel this way and whether your ability to function at home and work are affected.

Myth: Depression is a normal part of being a teenager.
Fact: Adolescent moodiness is not the same thing as teen depression.
"I don't consider depression a natural outcome of being a teenager," Duckworth says. "However, being a teenager can be a risky business."

Be on the lookout for how long a teen's symptoms last and how severe they are. Irritability, anger, falling grades, trouble at school, time alone and drug and alcohol use can be signs of more than just the blues.

"Many teens have conflict with their parents and struggle with their identity, but normal adolescents don't talk about killing themselves or losing interest in their friends," Duckworth says.

Myth: Depression is all in your genes.
Fact: Depression runs in families, but genes are not determining factors.
Family history does influence the likelihood of developing depression. Children whose parents experienced depression are three times as likely to suffer depression, anxiety and addiction as those whose parents have never been depressed, according to a 2006 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry. And research on identical twins (who share the same DNA) raised in separate families has shown that if one develops depression, the other is likely to, which points to a significant hereditary role, Sommers says.

"I wouldn't be fatalistic, but if you have an increased risk, be mindful of that," Duckworth says.

If depression runs in your family, find out what treatment benefited your loved ones. It may help you, too, he says.

Myth: Antidepressants will change my personality.
Fact: Antidepressants won't change one's personality.
Modern antidepressants are used to increase the circulation of serotonin and norephinephrine in the brain. The drugs can make you feel better, but they don't alter the traits that make you you, Sommers says.

"There's some concern about emotional numbing -- that by diminishing the bad feelings, [the drugs will] diminish the good ones; there's no real good evidence of it," he says.

Adds Duckworth: "Medicines don't help with persistent negative thoughts, but they may help with sleep, appetite, energy -- the biological pieces to the puzzle."

Myth: Antidepressants help everyone.
Fact: At best, 60 percent of people get better with antidepressants.
Psychiatric meds might improve certain symptoms of depression, but they're not going to affect life circumstances or counterproductive thinking. The STAR*D trial, a large federally funded study, found that just 40 percent of people improve with the first antidepressant they try, a number that goes up to 60 percent once you count the people who try more than one. More recently, a January report in JAMA found that people with mild depression weren't helped any more with an antidepressant than they were with a placebo, so if your depression isn't severe, you may want to consider exercise and psychotherapy first.

"There's some evidence that the combination of medication and psychotherapy is better than either one alone," Sommers says. And, he adds, the effects of psychotherapy seem to be more durable than drugs.

Myth: Women with postpartum depression are bad mothers who kill their children.
Fact: Postpartum depression isn't a character flaw, and psychosis is rare.
An estimated 9 to 16 percent of American women suffer from postpartum depression, or depression following childbirth, according to NAMI. Signs include feelings of guilt, anxiety and fear that make it difficult to function. It's rare -- between one to four in every 1,000 births -- that a mom suffers postpartum psychosis, the condition Andrea Yates' lawyers argued caused her to drown her five children. In those cases, women may have delusions, confusion, rapid mood swings and thoughts of hurting themselves or their child, according to NAMI.

"It's a reversible condition," Duckworth says.

But how quickly a woman is treated and the effects on her baby depend on her support net. Babies of postpartum moms can be at extra risk of language and behavior problems, as well as experience difficulty bonding with their mothers, the association says.