Personal Perspective: There’s often a discrepancy between people’s responses to physical vs. mental illness, which can frustrate those with depression. Here's what to know.
Yet, mental illness is just as debilitating as any other illness.“Wow, your back is so tight,” my physical therapist tells me. “It must be hurting you a lot.”
In the past few days, I’ve been on the receiving end of so much understanding and compassion that it’s been almost overwhelming. My back is in endless spasms, and I know I look like I’m in pain—I’mall the time, and my pale complexion is even ghostlier than usual. I’ve tried not to complain too much. But try as I might to hide it, the pain loudly announces itself to everyone around me.for this, and to some extent, I am. The sympathy that’s been pouring in does ease the pain somewhat.
Instead, I got the standard dose of advice . I even gotfrom one of the friends I’d canceled on, despite my abject apologies . It left me feeling more alone than ever.Why does the response seem so much easier for people? I can think of two possible reasons:In fact, mental pain is not at all uncommon; depression is actually the world’s leading cause of disability, according to the United Nations Health Agency.
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