In honor of Men’s Health Week, we are pleased to present a guest post by PatientsLikeMe member tiredoftired, a young man who has been living with major depressive disorder since 2007.  Don’t miss this moving essay about how Mike Wallace’s passing earlier this year impacted and inspired him.

As I was driving to therapy on an April afternoon, I heard a news report that Mike Wallace, an original host of the television show 60 Minutes, had passed away.  I was intrigued when the short segment highlighted Wallace’s accomplishments in his battle with depression.  I was only somewhat familiar with the show, but it was obvious from the report that he had a decorated career as a journalist and his professional accomplishments could have easily taken the full slot.  Having struggled with depression myself, I felt compelled to investigate his life further.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with his work as I was, Wallace was a pioneer of the newsmagazine format, which shaped journalistic television.  He was a pit bull of a correspondent; with his aggressively confrontational approach, he posed direct questions that others were too afraid to ask, often leaving the subject shaken.  Wallace interviewed some of the most eminent, and even fearsome, people and did not hold back on his interrogation-like technique.

But Wallace said that his greatest accomplishment in life was that he survived.  Wallace endured several bouts of severe depression throughout his life, the first of which left him in such emptiness and despair that he attempted suicide as a means of escape.  He used his personal experiences with depression to share ideas that would give other sufferers advice and hope.  Reading about his life made me feel the same comfort he provided to others when he was alive, and I have become encouraged by lessons he transmitted.  Here are the top four:

• There is no shame in depression: Wallace constantly repeated that depression does not signify an emotional weakness.  The pain, inability to cope and despair are unfathomable to those who have not experienced depression.  It is not a sadness that is surmountable by sheer willpower.  Aside from reassuring sufferers that their pain and disabilities were justified, it comforted them by seeing someone well-respected using his high-profile position to dissolve social stigma.
• There is no shame in asking for help: The stigma can prevent people from seeking help and make them embarrassed that, unlike others, they are unable to push through sadness themselves.  Wallace said that the single most important thing you can do is to go and talk to someone.  He stressed that it is impossible for one to handle alone, and he encouraged people to seek therapy and take medication, as well as emphasizing the importance of social support from family and friends.
• You are not alone: During depressive episodes, Wallace often talked to two close friends that also experienced depression.  By talking to those who could truly empathize, he felt comforted and validated.  Not only was he reassured that what he was feeling was normal, they were able to give him valuable insight and ideas.
• There is a light at the end of the tunnel: Wallace’s friends also gave him hope.  He saw that they had been through the darkness of depression and survived.  And he passed along that message to others. As bad as it seems now, he told people, look at how he emerged from that same prison and went on to live a happy, productive life.

Mike Wallace has inspired me to perpetuate these messages and give others the same comfort and hope he gave me.  Depression is a real medical illness and pursuing treatment is nothing to be embarrassed about. With the help of mental health professionals and a strong support system, we have the ability to fight through the darkness.  By doing that, we can do more than just survive – we can build productive and meaningful lives.

Learn more about Mike Wallace’s struggle with depression in this candid CBS interview from 2006. Also, if you’re living with depression yourself, we invite you to join PatientsLikeMe’s depression community and connect with more than 11,000 others like you.

In honor of this month’s Mental Illness Awareness Week, here’s a snapshot of what’s happening in our PatientsLikeMe Mood community. Launched in 2008, the community now has more than 18,000 patients. Below are some interesting facts about the community, so please read and share on!

DID YOU ALSO KNOW…

• You can search for patients under 15+ diagnosis categories, including depression, bipolar, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, addiction to tobacco, addiction to alcohol, eating disorder and more.
• In a PatientsLikeMe research study recently published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, we revealed:
  • 26% of responding mood community members agreed or strongly agreed that using the site had reduced thoughts about self harm
  • 23% agreed they had decided to start therapy or counseling after interacting with others on the site
  • 22% agreed they needed less inpatient care as a result of using PatientsLikeMe.  (See our “Patient Voice” report, video and member interview on inpatient therapy).
• Members’ experiences on the treatment Amitriptyline was used in an award-winning paper presented at Medicine 2.0 last year.

How are our members treating their condition?

• Patients are using more than 1700 treatments, including prescription drugs, supplements, over-the-counter medications, life-style modifications, therapies, and more.
• The top lifestyle modification reported by our patients is positive self talk; and sleep is the #1 exercise cited.
• The most widely used prescription drugs reported by members are Lamotragine, Clonazepam and Bupropion; the top 3 supplements are Omega 3 Fish Oil, Multi-Vitamins, and Vitamin D.

What are their major symptoms?

• The 5 most common primary symptoms reported include: Back Pain, Dizziness, Headaches, Hyperventilation, and Muscle Tension.

What are they talking about?

• Some of the top topics “tagged” in our forum discussions to date include specific treatments (like Lamictal, Lithium, Wellbutrin and Seroqul), as well as borderline personality disorder, coping, anger and journaling.

In a recent blog post by New York Times’ Tara Parker-Pope, PsychCentral highlights “The 12 Most Annoying Habits of Therapists.”  Launched a year ago this week, our very own Mood community has more than 1,300 patients using “Individual Therapy” as a treatment for their condition.  We asked them to tell us some of the habits they find most annoying and elaborate on the ones outlined by Parker-Pope.  Here’s what they had to say about some of those respect issues:

• I had a [therapist] fall asleep during the session!  I walked out (without paying of course).
• My biggest peeve is with therapists who refuse to work in conjunction with my psychiatrist and his diagnosis.
• I hate it when therapists talk down to me. I’m crazy, not stupid!
• [Therapists:]  Don’t look at patients as if they’re wacky or as if they’ve just said something wacky.  We are always reading faces and reactions, the last person we need to be judged by is our therapist.  Be mindful of how “tuned in” we are to your body language.
• I love my current therapist, but…he once took a call in the middle of a session, obviously from a friend or family member (nothing critical), it had to do with whether or not they should order pizza…I don’t know if he was trying to get me to react or what, but with low self-esteem already, his disregard for my time and his placing more importance on ordering a pizza than on helping me really made me angry and hurt.
• I spent 30+ years in the business world, so things like consistent lateness, taking private phone calls on my time, clock watching and snacking while in session are all things one would never do when with a business client.  Perhaps therapists should take a few business courses.

On the flip side, many of our members (those with depression, anxiety, bipolar, OCD, PTSD) had some positive things to share about their therapy experiences.  Here are a few of those comments:

• My doctor’s advice: ‘don’t let go of the things you enjoy doing.’  I decided to fight for those things–reading, creativity, enjoying the outdoors, animals, writing with fountain pens, hats, etc.–because they’re part of what makes me ‘me.’  I think it was great advice and should be passed on to other people.
• [My therapist] is flexible about what kind of therapy works for me from week to week.  She has a lot of resources to recommend, and when one isn’t my thing, we try another. This goes along with flexibility, but it also shows that she knows her stuff. She has helped me find everything from relaxation tapes to yoga classes to PTSD workbooks.
• My therapist won’t let me get away with anything. I think this is a very good trait in a therapist. She also believes I know my own body better than anyone else.
• She is never shy about throwing me a compliment. In fact she has told me several times that she admires certain qualities about myself.

Got some experiences to share?  We’d love to hear ‘em!  Leave a comment below.