We often find these 2 words, depression and antidepressants, spoken in the same breath. Why is this a problem? Because always coupling them together erroneously implies that depression is a disease and antidepressants are the cure. It is dangerous to see them together so often because they begin to appear to be naturally identified as a pathology and its treatment.

Depression is not necessarily a pathology. It can also refer to a very ordinary state of mind triggered by some kind of loss, whether it be material or emotional. Depression is often part of the ordinary ups and downs of life.

Depression is a term used when a patient expresses particular feelings. It can be used for a psychiatrist’s observation in referring to the inner world of the patient. It is also the term used for a mental illness, a pathological disorder which is a clinical state.

It is easy for us to become sloppy with words. We use the same words in different circumstances without necessarily clarifying the different nuances we mean to communicate. We lump words together in ways that blur their meanings. These result in false logics that can do a great deal of harm. It has affected many people and created much suffering for patients.

In a casual conversation recently, a well-established psychiatrist shared the sad news of a mutual friend who lost a family member through suicide. He then commented that 1) young people today do indeed tragically commit suicide, and 2) they are notoriously resistant to taking antidepressants.

I was shocked. Why did he immediately associate the suicide to depression that would respond to drug treatment in such a linear way? The thought arose in my mind that the troubled young man perhaps might have been helped if he had someone to speak with at that difficult moment in his life, someone that would listen to him with understanding and empathy.

Medication would certainly not be the first thought that comes to my mind in such circumstances. To know a person is feeling badly and to then help him requires more than prescribing a pill. It is an inappropriate leap in logic to so completely associate prevention of suicide with a pill. Surely some mental health professionals are missing the point, the basic importance of listening deeply and always being kind.