spreading knowledge and awareness about mental health issues 

Depression

Diabetes is a chemical imbalance. It can affect anyone of any age, race, gender or socioeconomic group. There are different types of diabetes and the type often determines the treatment. Sometimes the disease can be controlled with small life changes like diet and exercise. If insulin is needed, it often takes much trial and error to find the right dosage because the disease is different in everyone. People who are diabetic may not like sticking to their diet and jabbing themselves with needles on a regular basis and going to the doctor a lot, but they do it because they know that that's the only way to treat the disease. Eventually, even if a diabetic person needs insulin at first, it's sometimes possible for them to get to a point where their disease can be managed without it.

Now read that paragraph again and substitute the word "depression" for "diabetes" and "antidepressant" for "insulin". The paragraph is still true, but most people don't think about depression like that. Depression is a disease. Sometimes lifestyle changes are enough to keep it in remission. Sometimes it takes doctor visits and medication. Sometimes it takes docs and meds at first, but later lifestyle changes are enough. Depression is a disease. I don't know why this concept is so hard for some (depressed and not) people to grasp. Diabetes, like depression, is a chemical imbalance, and yet no one would ever question whether or not a diabetic needs insulin, or tell them to just get over it because they don't have anything to be diabetic about.

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"Diabetes, like depression, is a chemical imbalance, and yet no one would ever question whether or not a diabetic needs insulin, or tell them to just get over it because they don't have anything to be diabetic about."

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