White Dee Depressed?, So Am I

[trt]

reading about her and seeing her on TV!

She dosent look depressed to me?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2563069/The-person-depressed-taxpayer-Questions-Benefits-Streets-White-Dee-appear-repeatedly-TV-deemed-ill-work.html

[anneasquith]

what do depressed people look like ?

[Mamyalynne]

Oh do you have a particular look when you are depressed? I never noticed all these years.

[giveup]

I think she's a waste of space. We all get depressed sometimes, but a few days hard work would cure her.

[Mamyalynne]

Is that the case, righto - does that go for all those with clinical depression or just this lady?

[Zacs-Master]

She might have been on one of her good days.

[anneasquith]

trt, if you do suffer from depression, and many people do. I hope you have support from your family/friends and the medical profession. 1 in 4 people suffer from mental illness, alas, often there are no physical signs.

[wolf63]

I, too, am curious as to how a depressed person should look.

I haven't been able to work for over ten years due to mental health problems. Itisa very unpleasant illness and the situation is not helped by judgemental people.

[Mamyalynne]

I think we are wasting our time, what has happened here is the lady has become target of the month, I don't know her any better than those who have commented.

Generalised reactions will always happen and it is interesting how these things turn out- earlier someone got a 'best' answer for a joke about her bra or lack of, serious discussion?? I don't think so somehow.

[trt]

Sorry folks I should have put it another way.
If she was as depressed as she keeps telling us, she seems OK to go on TV 3 times in one week.

Maybe if she did some exercise and cut down on the ciggies she might feel a bit better, and her benefits could go more to her kids, and making her home a bit homelier, instead of being a tip!

As for not knowing how depressed people look like, I have been on medication for the same about 2 years since coming out of hospital.

[Mamyalynne]

Well, yes maybe you did word it badly, an easy thing to do - exercise etc is good granted but just like you I do not know her specific circumstances. I know when I have been in the black hole of the beast, even stepping through the door was difficult.

Now she is on steadying medication maybe she can move forward.

[Sly,Duck]

trt The most happiest person you could ever meet who had a job and lived at home with his parents in a very nice house and in a nice area said goodnight to all his friends went home and hung himself.

If you can tell who is depressed by just looking at them you have been given a gift from God.

[emmie]

depression doesn't always make you do those things, a sudden urge to end it all, could be a cry for help, but it may not always be depression led.
And depression, anxiety, breakdown, mental illness still come with a stigma regardless of moving forward in that area.

[Sly,Duck]

// depression doesn't always make you do those things //

If it did there would be a lot of vacancies for undertakers.

[douglas9401]

"what do depressed people look like ?"

Re-wrinkled?

[factor-fiction]

I think most of us suffer from depression at some stage or other, and many live with it permanently. It's very difficult to measure the strength of it though. Whilst many of those who are absent from work of on sickness benefits on grounds of depression are genuinely unfit for work I'm pretty sure quite a few are actually less affected by depression than many who soldier on, rightly or wrongly, and try to make the best of things.
It's a bit like stress. It's very hard to measure it. I used to work with some people who used to go off with 'stress' whenever they were asked to do something they didn't want to do, leaving others to pick up the pieces, and it made people less sympathetic unfortunately to those who were genuinely stressed

[emmie]

no one knows, there was an interesting article in the mail recently, with a picture of half a dozen people who had some form of mental illness, all working professionals, of course no one can tell by looking at you, only by dint of experience.

[sandyRoe]

The new examinations to weed out malingerers seem very stringent. It took me some time and effort to have my nephew, who is in a 'home' following serious brain injuries, excused an interview to assess his fitness for work.
If this woman's on sickness benefits then there's little doubt that she is ill despite how she might seem to viewers.

[emmie]

perhaps, but why go on these programmes, why be filmed when you know that you will likely be portrayed in a poor way, seeing as how the title gives it away Benefit street. Like going on Jeremy Kyle, surely they must know how badly they will come across, it's car crash tv.

[sandyRoe]

The chance to escape humdrum routine and appear on the telly is strangely attractive to some. If I was in her shoes publicity is the last thing I'd want.