Hey Michael. First of all, thanks for this extensive piece.
Now, I’ve been dealing with my share of depression and anxiety for more than half of my life (almost 20 years). And to be honest, I never looked at what I (or people like me) go through from the monetary point of view. You did mention the $3.500 to AMF is equal to 1 life… and I’m not sure if I agree with it.
Sure, statistics have a point and we know how much it (generally) costs to save a life, medicate or treat a person and so on. Then again (speaking from my own experience) depression is not something that can be measured. We will never get the complete sample of people who suffer from mental issues, because a lot of these people don’t even know that they have an issue.
I could go to the poorest village in the Kongo and I’ll likely meet more super-happy people, than in the most developed parts of the world. And if I would find a depressed person there, the “cost” of making them feel better would likely be lower.
The point I’m trying to make is, we are not a statistic. Charities and other organisations alone won’t cut it. First and foremost, we as a human species need to understand the issue at hand better, we need to be better informed about what these issues are and how they impact us in the long run.
I had to push myself every single day, to start realising that I do need outside help, and that this is Okay.
Nowadays I’m feeling (mostly) like a million bucks (no medication, no therapies for over a year), I’ve changed my life around with “normal changes” like changing my diet, doing Yoga and more radical ones, like giving TMS a shot ( kudos to https://successtms.com/ ) and actually finding a good therapist to talk to.
it worked for me. In the end, everybody has to find his/her way. People with mental health problems should not 100% rely on others to “fix their issues” for them.
Hey Michael. First of all, thanks for this extensive piece.
Now, I’ve been dealing with my share of depression and anxiety for more than half of my life (almost 20 years). And to be honest, I never looked at what I (or people like me) go through from the monetary point of view. You did mention the $3.500 to AMF is equal to 1 life… and I’m not sure if I agree with it.
Sure, statistics have a point and we know how much it (generally) costs to save a life, medicate or treat a person and so on. Then again (speaking from my own experience) depression is not something that can be measured. We will never get the complete sample of people who suffer from mental issues, because a lot of these people don’t even know that they have an issue.
I could go to the poorest village in the Kongo and I’ll likely meet more super-happy people, than in the most developed parts of the world. And if I would find a depressed person there, the “cost” of making them feel better would likely be lower.
The point I’m trying to make is, we are not a statistic. Charities and other organisations alone won’t cut it. First and foremost, we as a human species need to understand the issue at hand better, we need to be better informed about what these issues are and how they impact us in the long run.
I had to push myself every single day, to start realising that I do need outside help, and that this is Okay.
Nowadays I’m feeling (mostly) like a million bucks (no medication, no therapies for over a year), I’ve changed my life around with “normal changes” like changing my diet, doing Yoga and more radical ones, like giving TMS a shot ( kudos to https://successtms.com/ ) and actually finding a good therapist to talk to.
it worked for me. In the end, everybody has to find his/her way. People with mental health problems should not 100% rely on others to “fix their issues” for them.
Have a lovely day
You might be interested in this essay by Julia Wise.