an illness, not a weakness

On the CBC website, there's a good overview feature about depression.

One statistic that I question is that women are twice as likely to suffer from depression as men. Perhaps. But perhaps men are under-diagnosed, because it is less socially acceptable for men to seek help for depression. Also, depression often manifests itself differently in men than in women. Where women are more likely to feel sadness and grief, depression in men is often characterized by anger and irritability. Those symptoms may be less recognized as depression, and thought of more as personality traits.

I detest the characterization of anti-depressant medications as "happy pills" that are over-prescribed to anyone who feels a little down. For any over-prescribing that's out there (and what drug doesn't have some of that?), there are so many more people whose lives could be greatly improved by anti-depressants, but who feel they must "tough it out". I've seen such positive, life-changing benefits in so many people I love and care about. I wish more people could experience those.