HW#30: Illness and Dying-Culminating Experiental Project

I decided to focus this project on the condition of medical 'depression.' There are people who don't consider it as an illness so I wanted to conduct more research and gain knowledge about it. Even if depression is medically approved as an 'illness' its hard to take that as a fact unless actually knowing someone with that condition.

The illness and dying unit made me uncomfortable most of the time, but helped me confront the things I have been avoiding. Hospitals and medicine are the dominant social practices surrounding this unit. These methods don't always work in favor of the patient and their family members and yet our society continue to grow dependency on this system. When people are sick, the first place we think to go to is the doctor. And, when the 'sickness' is not simply treated, we are constrained in a hospital until we are cured or pass away. Depression is not easily cured, especially when the person's environment worsens her condition. Medications can be taken to help depression, but since it dosn't have to be taken-some people may not even consider depression as a sickness. These insights connect to what I did for this project, because I think the social practice of allopathic medicine caused many to not take depression as a serious condition.

But, just because I know someone who struggles with depression does not mean that I know a lot about it. I researched the basics I should know about the condition and found statistics that I found important. From a small pdf from pbs I learned that about 15 million American adults are diagnosed with depression, and yet about 80% of depressed patients are not being treated. 90% of people who commit suicide could have been treated from a depressive disorder and is the third leading cause of deaths for ages 10 to 24. (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/takeonestep/depression/pdf/dep_stats.pdf)
On About.com I found more statistics that confirmed the facts. Depression has doubled in the past 15 years, and yet medline of 2000 stated that 30,000 deaths from suicide happen annually. Suicide is also the 8th leading cause of death.
(http://depression.about.com/od/drugsalcohol/a/alcoholanddep_2.htm)

Depression is life threatening, and yet I can't take a plane to Japan multiple times just because I worry for her. I have a loving aunt that I always found a little 'too nice' even before she became depressed and took medications for it. Before I went to visit her two summers ago, she had constantly called my mom to ask when she was coming over. When we finally met her, she was really happy and was her usual self. I was relieved, but when we returned to New York a call came in from my uncle who said her condition worsened. She didn't want us to leave her and yet it wasn't possible for us to fly to her every so often. Her medications had not worked and she continued to take different pills. My cousins who are in their 20's still depend on my aunt despite her illness. She drives one of my cousins to work which makes no sense to me. I don't even know if the other cousin has a job and she comes home in the middle of the night from who knows where. She also takes care of my uncle's mother who is bedridden. And, I am in a place where I can't support her in any way.

Before she was diagnosed with Depression, she was a very bright aunt, and I was still able to see that side of her when I flew to Japan two summers ago. Once in a while, the house phone would ring. When I picked up the phone, I didn't recognize her. Her voice was low and I thought my phone was broken or something. When I finally realized the person on the other side of the phone was my aunt, I was a bit upset. Her voice on the phone made me question if she was always afraid of something-like she could not be left alone.

Depression can happen to anyone-and it makes sense. People have emotions and become sad at certain moments. If bad things happen one after the other-who wouldn't end up becoming depressed? An individual struggling with depression should be in a supportive environment that understands that she is ill. Depression is also life-threatning, and can lead to suicide. Our dominant culture with illness and dying has factors that are upsetting, and I think not treating enough depressed patients is another reason for dissaproval. Hospitals should be spending more money on curing conditions that can save more lives.

The seriousness of depression and the statistics for it matters because it shows in the numbers. If depression is treated more often, suicide rates will decrease greatly. Depression is hard to detect, but it is treatable. It also matters because I don't think people are aware enough. Society should become more understanding about conditions that seem like the individual is weak-when really it is an illness that needs a lot of support.

Sources:

Depression Statistics. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/takeonestep/depression/pdf/dep_stats.pdf

What you need to know about Alcohol and Depression.
http://depression.about.com/od/drugsalcohol/a/alcoholanddep_2.htm