Daily Times

When a famous public figure with a massive following goes on television and claims that “depression does not exist,” it is our responsibility to set the record straight. Pakistan has a hard enough time grasping mental illness without an ignorant actress feeding into the stigma that accompanies depression. Depression is a debilitating illness that claims thousands of lives each year. Our indifference undermines decades of psychiatric research devoted to demystifying depression and its many facets.

Too often, depressed people are told to get over themselves as if that’s even an option. If they choose to seek help, they are mocked endlessly by their friends and families, which only exacerbates the problem. Things aren’t any easier for mental health professionals in this country who are screamed at routinely simply for diagnosing their patients. Most people with depression simply aren’t equipped with the language needed to communicate their emotions and needs. They internalise the idea that their problems are exclusive to them as opposed to the product of a system designed to tear them down.

A 15-year-old boy recently set himself on fire because he was anxious about his exams. If depression was so easy to resolve, Muhammad would have been alive right now. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he literally combusted under the weight of his emotions, like countless others who succumb to the tyranny of social expectations. The desire to perform well academically is valid. What is not okay, however, is pushing yourself to the limit to achieve something entirely out of the realm of possibility. We should be teaching children to be the best version of themselves. Instead, we control every aspect of their lives in the hopes that they will transform into who we need them to be and punish them when they aren’t able to adhere to those plans. When a child comes into this world, it is our duty to protect them. We should be encouraging their natural inclinations and interests as opposed to pushing them towards goals that they have no interest in pursuing. Not everyone has to be a doctor or an engineer-there’s an entire world of options out there worth exploring. *