There is no ‘made up’ depression

Thank you very much for the excellent editorial on mental health (“No joking matter,” 10/12/17).
Rarely do you have to hear such nonsense that depression is not a serious disease. I speak from family experience and the only excuse for Joey de Leon is his possibly low level of education and intellect.

If someone is infected with cancer, nobody says it’s not serious. This seems different in the case of depression. Of course, you cannot expect everyone to have great medical background knowledge, but some general education does not hurt, and a good book from time to time.

My family has been affected by three suicides: my father’s brother, another uncle and a close relative have poisoned, shot and hanged themselves. None of them was “made up.” Everyone had a good job, money, family and… depression! Apparently, nothing was able to stop these dark clouds in their minds, this biochemical imbalance in their brains. They saw no way out of this horrifying and terrifying world except to escape by suicide. A world just gray on gray.

If the disease had been taken as seriously as cancer or diabetes today, they would have been saved through therapy and medication. These families would still be intact and the men would be alive and valuable members of society.

It is good that there are organizations in the Philippines, like in Germany, that accept the subject. Thanks to Sen. Risa Hontiveros who also discussed such subject that is otherwise ignored, either from ignorance or because in their opinion, depression is only “made up.”

JÜRGEN SCHÖFER, PhD, [email protected]