Why Do Some Depressives Not Seek Treatment?

Have you ever wondered why so many people who obviously suffer from depression choose not to get help? When you look at that friend, coworker, or family member and you know that they are suffering with another depressive episode, yet they deny the need for help, what are you to do? Perhaps the first thing is to figure out why they will not seek help and them maybe you can find a way to convince them differently. First, large portions of the population who suffer from depression find the social stigma of mental illness too much to deal with. They fear that it will cost them their job or perhaps their relationship. They do not understand that in The United States they are not alone as depression sufferers since nearly ten percent of Americans sufferer a depressive episode each year.

Others refuse to seek help because they do not want to find themselves dependent on medication. They believe that it is wrong to rely on something artificial to make them feel better. There are worries about happy pills correcting their problem. First, any medical condition can require medication to be stabilized. With this philosophy diabetics would not use insulin and those who are farsighted would never get glasses so they can see well. The medications that depressives are put on are anything but happy pills. They do not have that affect. They are prescription drugs that are made to rebalance the chemicals in one’s body that are out of sync and so cause these difficult episodes.

The medical profession itself is sometimes at fault. They make it so difficult to get help. Sometimes it is as simple as odd office hours or as complex as what the health insurance companies will cover and what the depressive must pay for. Other times it is based on having bad experiences with health care providers and so being reluctant to return to them. If this is the case the depressive must find himself or herself a doctor they are more comfortable with. This can be another complication with many health insurance companies.

Another complication can be that a portion of depressives are homeless and so feel unable to get medical care, They rely instead on visits to the emergency room if things get really bad. Sometimes they are lucky enough to find a free clinic that will prescribe for them but then they cannot afford the medication. Some depressives are illiterate and therefore are unable to learn enough about what they are suffering from for them to understand what it is and how it can be helped. They are ignorant of their own plight.

Then there are those that just do not think it is worth making the effort to get help. It is not that they are happy where they are. They are not comfortable in their depressive state. They just figure it is too much trouble to change it and that it is likely that they would not be able to anyway.