Depression
That was it. And when I asked my wife what Sean Birch died from, she, very wisely, replied “Depression”.
The word “suicide” gives many people the impression that “it was his own decision,” or “he chose to die, whereas most people with cancer fight to live.”
And, because Depression is still such a misunderstood condition, you can hardly blame people for not really understanding. Just a quick search on Twitter will show how many people have little sympathy for those who commit suicide.
But, just as a Pulmonary Embolism is a fatal symptom of cancer, suicide is a fatal symptom of Depression.
Depression is an illness, not a choice of lifestyle. You can’t just “cheer up” with depression, just as you can’t choose not to have cancer. When someone commits suicide as a result of Depression, they die from Depression – an illness that kills millions each year.
It is hard to know exactly how many people actually die from Depression each year because the figures and statistics only seem to show how many people die from “suicide” each year (and you don’t necessarily have to suffer Depression to commit suicide, it’s usually just implied).
But considering that one person commits suicide every 14 minutes in the US alone, we clearly need to do more to battle this illness, and the stigmas that continue to surround it. Perhaps
Depression might lose some its “it was his own fault” stigma, if we start focussing on the illness, rather than the symptom.
Sean Birch didn’t die from suicide. He died from Depression*.
It wasn’t his choice to suffer that.”
We need to talk more about depression. Please, share this with your friends. Help the world understand that depression is NOT a choice.
