by 
Jen-Jen
ANSWERS: 37
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Because they themselves haven't endured what a dark and desolate existence that it can be when dealing with depression. They don't know until they deal with it first hand that "Wow, this is some scary sh*t!" -- I'm glad to say that with the aide of Cymbalta I have been able to cope with my depression and I would NEVER wish this on anyone.
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people think it's a state of mind and that you can CHOOSE not to be depressed you can CHOOSe to be happy, snap out of it, get over it. They don't realize it's a real disease like diabetes. It's ignorance. They think that EVERYONE should be happy to be alive and thankful for everything. They don't understand that it's a chemical thing and that you could be the richest person in the world with a million friends and be depressed..it's not something you CHOOSE to be or not be.
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As someone once said of depression - there is no blood. You cannot see the symptoms. You smile once and people think you are better.
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i think it's because everyone has "down days" where they feel sad, or discouraged or self-pitying, for a day, and then it passes, and they mistake that momentary down time as REAL depression. real depression takes away your strength, reason, sleep, appetite, hope and joy, among other things. if you were able to 'cure' your depression all by yourself, you probably didn't have what a doctor would consider depression. a friend confided to me that he always felt contempt for people who were constantly (clinically) depressed, until he suffered a major life-trauma and it plunged him into a bottomless despair that did not end. thank God, his wife dragged him to the doctor and he got the help he needed but in retrospect he viewed his former intolerance of depression as egotistical and short-sighted. basically, it's a lack of understanding and compassion
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Because they think you can choose to act how you act, be how you are. They don't know what you're going through because they aren't living it. The only way someone can truly know how you are feeling is for them to experience your life, the way you have lived it. They don't realize that with depression, it's a lasting condition with ups and downs that can continue for months, even years. Just cuz you're happy today, doesn't mean you will be tomorrow. They think that when you are happy for a little while, you're cured... It's very real, and it's no fun.
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Because they have never suffered from depression themselves and don't understand it. They are the type of people to tell someone who is depressed to "pull yourself together". If they could just experience depression for 5 minutes they would understand.
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I agree totally with the others, people who don't have that experience, cannot tell how that person suffers.
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Because you can't see the boo boo. And because most people get what they THINK is depression and then pop back out of it as normally as any other emotion. So they think that everyone experiences depression the same way.
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Some do,some don't. Many I suspect believe that depression is nothing more tnen being sad; ignorance.
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People act like depression is the 800 pound gorilla in the room which nobody notices. Everyone is afraid of getting depressed just as people are afraid of getting cancer and heart disease. I always feel like being depressed is like being in nasty weather. It has that hopelessness about it until we snap out of it.
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Stigma - the phrase " suck it up " - It's the only disease that makes you tell yourself you don't have a disease.
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Mental illnesses of any kind of long been stigmatized, and there are many myths still surrounding mental illness. For these reasons, many people who need help do not seek it for fear of what other people will say or think. Also, people think depressed people can just "snap out of it" and "buck up" (I can't count the number of times I heard this from my dad).
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Yeah, It is not a visual pain, but very serious nontheless.
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I think depression is taken very seriously by the medical profession. It is also becoming taken more seriously by the public in general.
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because it is just one of those things that you have to actually suffer to feel compassion for. it is hard for some to imagine... especially in the age of the self help book and the self help guru. Most people walk around oblivious to anyone but themselves these days too and very few people care.
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People that don't take depression seriously have never been depressed themselves. They think it's the same thing as feeling down or unhappy. It's hard to understand unless you've been there yourself.
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because they dont know what its like to be sad all the time, and nothing makes you happy. people take depression as a joke, and it makes you think that no one really cares anymore about feelings.
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A lot of people don`t understand something that they can`t physically see..so,in order to hide their ignorance about the subject,they laugh at it...:)
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Because they don't realize or refuse to accept that depression is an illness just like diabetes or heart disease. Having depression used to be taboo many years ago, and some people still consider it taboo. We can't control how our brain is or functions. Those who don't have depression and criticize those who do should be feel fortunate that they do not have this illness themselves. I will be on an antidepressant for the rest of my life. I have tried to live without an antidepressant, but only end up having to go back on one. Thank God for this medication, or I may be 6 feet under.
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because they've never been depressed
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Depression is an excessive focus on yourself and your own problems. Life is about giving, and those that live accordingly don't have to worry about depression, which is not a disease.
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I think we are ashamed of it and so make light of it.
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Depression is considered my most people as an exaggeration of emotions, that's why they don't take it seriously. My grandfather is in a state of depression. He has seen a psychologist and it's been confirmed. All he does all day is sleep, gets up, does a little bickering with my grandmother, and then sleeps some more. Never a smile on his face, always hoping the day when natural causes will whisk him away. Its not something that should be taken lightly. If there are people in your life who don't believe you are depressed, you either have a tendency to over exaggerate or they just don't care enough to take you seriously.
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I am slightly bi polor/depressed and i wish i could fix that but the medicine for it makes my family suicidle so we dont take it. But deppression is serious some people dont take it seriously because they think the person with it is just showing out or pitying themselves instead of seeing as a real problem. People with it dont take it seriouslt because they think its just who they are and live with it. When they find a med for it that doesnt make me worse i would love to fix my problem. But i would rather be depressed than kill myself.
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that is a very good question that does need to be addressed. it is a serious problem and most don't know that they have it. it is a very common thing. and people need to take it seriously. they just don't seem to understand the seriousness of it. and it is really sad and they should.
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Some people don't take depression seriously because they are in their own little world and don't understand why anyone can be depressed; they don't realize that just because they are happy that others aren't necessarily happy as well. Other people don't take depression seriously because they do not want to accept the fact that depression exists and especially don't want to accept that a friend or family member has depression/is depressed. While some people don't take depression seriously because they have never experienced true depression; they have been sad before, but have not experienced actual depression and how it feels. I have experienced depression and it can be very difficult to describe (not only difficult to describe depression in general, but also difficult to describe how you feel at the moment).
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Depression can't be seen like a broken limb it can't be measured or quantified like like a rash or a burn. Therefore some people don't believe it exists. All they can see is a person who is tired and unmotivated and can't be bother. All they can see is someone who doesn't try to "get better" (although better than what I have yet to determine). Some people will play on this to gain attention or sympathy because depression can't been seen. People who suffer depression can still to some extent functtion in society so many don't believe that it is all that bad. Oh well, there is still some hope that a piebald camel will come into their home and piss on the carpet...
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I think it is because even though everyone suffers from depression at one point in their lives it may have not been as drastic as the way other people experience it, so those who have suffered mild depression assume all cases of depression to be the same as the way that they have experience....not everyone understands how depression can vary depending on the individual and the circumstances.
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Because they just see it as a weakness and not an illness. They don't truly understand it and feel it's a crutch that some people use, that you should just be able to snap out of it if you are feeling sad or blue. But they are ignorant about what true depression is and how serious it can take hold of someone and their life.
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Because alot of people self diagnose, and often misdiagnose. Calling themselves depressed when really they are not. The term depression is thrown around too lightly. I think that the 'emo' stereotype also plays a big role in it as well.
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Perhaps they haven't experienced it.
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i think its because they dont understand. some people have days where they feel slightly low, and others have an overwhelming feeling of depression all the time. the people who only feel a bit low will never know what its like to have that feeling multiplied by 100, all day everey day, unless theyve experienced it.
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Hello. Hope you are fine. Because they don't want to be depressed. Thank you.
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I agree that many people don't understand the difference between being sad/having a bad day and being seriously, clinically depressed. Sometimes it is hard for people to understand that other people can have experienced or felt things that they have never experienced or felt.
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Great question. Family,friends seem often to just not get it unless they experience it themselves, which can often be hurtful,I feel. Anything that can't be seen on the outside can be hard for people to empathize with. If you can't see it it isn't there. If you have coping mechanisms where you use laughter, humor and present with a nice exterior then you can't be sick,right? The stigma is still here even though I think one out of every 4 experiences it. I guess nobody wants to be known a mentally ill! I'm not thrilled I have depression that's my life, and makes me more tolerant of conditions I don't have.
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I think it's because they havent experienced depression themselves. Some people have days where they feel a bit sad, others have days like that for months, years, and it's a lot more serious. People should realise that depression can be a serious mental illness, the same as schizophrenia, bi polar, or anything else.
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Most people don't know how to deal with it. But you're right. Its kind of like this, for example, if you got a fork stabbed in your eye by someone and your bleeding out your eyeball, everyone is gonna freak out & be like WTF! You have a fork in your eye & your bleeding everywhere! You need help ASAP! But then if you tell someone you're suicidal or depressed they just tell you to get over it. That's the wrong way to handle it.
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