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Surya Gayatri

(15,445 posts) Mon Mar 30, 2015, 04:21 PM Mar 2015

Air disaster (4U9525) coverage shows that depression is still stigmatized

(This one's for you, my dear uppityperson... )

http://www.dw.de/germanwings-coverage-shows-that-depression-is-still-stigmatized/a-18347412

In a desperate attempt to make sense of the Germanwings plane crash, many people are focusing on the co-pilot's mental health. But drawing conclusions between depression and violence is misleading and simply wrong.
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In trying to make sense of the event, many media outlets around the world seem to have resorted to a "quick fix" explanation: co-pilot Andreas Lubitz crashed the plane because he suffered from depression.
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France's Prime Minister Manuel Valls set the tone for tabloid media when he said that everything pointed to an act that was "crazy, criminal, suicidal," according to news agency Agence France-Press. Media outlets have been quick to pick up on this. The Bild Zeitung, Germany's largest and notorious tabloid, called Lubitz "the amok-pilot," while British paper The Daily Mail had a headline "Mass-killer co-pilot who deliberately crashed Germanwings plane had to STOP training because he was suffering depression and 'burn-out.'"
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"It's kind of natural to say 'this just has to be deeply crazy'," Jeffrey Swanson, a psychiatry professor at Duke University told US news magazine The Atlantic. But, he added that being generally suspicious of people with mental health issues was absurd: "The vast majority of people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression are not likely to do anything violent and never will."
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Injecting a note of caution, rationality and restraint into the discussion.

4 replies

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Air disaster (4U9525) coverage shows that depression is still stigmatized (Original Post) Surya Gayatri Mar 2015 OP

Jumping to conclusion get the red out Mar 2015 #1

I also have mental health issues and feel deeply for Surya Gayatri Mar 2015 #2

In an increasingly complex society, there is more than just the individual's privacy to consider BlueStreak Mar 2015 #3

Very well said, Blue. That's what I've been trying to suggest on other threads... Surya Gayatri Mar 2015 #4

get the red out

(13,468 posts)

1. Jumping to conclusion

Reply to Surya Gayatri (Original post)

Mon Mar 30, 2015, 04:32 PM

Mar 2015

His true mental health picture could be far more complex than "he suffered from depression". People can have multiple issues.

I really hate the association of depression with mass murder too. I have suffered depression for as long as I can remember in my life.

Surya Gayatri

(15,445 posts)

2. I also have mental health issues and feel deeply for

Reply to get the red out (Reply #1)

Mon Mar 30, 2015, 04:45 PM

Mar 2015

those who suffer from marginalization or discrimination due to mental and/or neurological health problems.

As Dr. Swanson says, "It's kind of natural to say 'this just has to be deeply crazy'", but the press and public have to avoid jumping to unfounded conclusions.

It is human nature to seek some rational explanation for such a shocking event, and discussing possible scenarios does not equate to instant stigmatization, IMHO.

BlueStreak

(8,377 posts)

3. In an increasingly complex society, there is more than just the individual's privacy to consider

Reply to Surya Gayatri (Original post)

Mon Mar 30, 2015, 04:47 PM

Mar 2015

I certainly agree with the comments that "depression", like most other mental or psychological conditions, is imprecise. And the thing we call "depression" most of the time leads to a great deal of personal difficulty and not a lot of risk to random others.

But we are living in a world full of guns and violence, both at the state and the individual level. And a correlation between mental problems and violent terrorist/homicidal acts is unavoidable.

I don't have any great answers, but it cannot possibly the right answer that a seriously disturbed person can get a pilot's license and land a job putting hundreds of people at risk, and it is illegal for the company to be told about it.

Surya Gayatri

(15,445 posts)

4. Very well said, Blue. That's what I've been trying to suggest on other threads...

Reply to BlueStreak (Reply #3)

Mon Mar 30, 2015, 04:59 PM

Mar 2015

"And a correlation between mental problems and violent terrorist/homicidal acts is unavoidable."

Sadly, it's illegal in Germany, under their draconian privacy laws, for a doctor to report even serious, life-threatening health findings to an employer. It's 'voluntary, on-your-honor' reporting only.

Hence, my argument in favor of 'mandatory monitoring and reporting' in safety-sensitive industries.

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