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Ruby Wax urges parents to learn to spot depression

Comedian Ruby Wax yesterday urged parents and teachers to learn how to spot depression and to create an atmosphere where young people feel free to talk about it.

A lot of people take their lives “because who do they go to” and also because of the shame of depression, she said.

Speaking at the Clarion Hotel, Sligo, the television star said families should be educated and believe someone when they say they are depressed.

“Spot it, and be gentle, and say ‘I know it is really an illness, I know it is not because you are lazy or will not get out of bed’.”

Wax, whose one-woman show Out of Her Mind, highlighting the stigma surrounding mental illness, has just finished in London’s West End, was addressing the Mental Health Nurse Managers Ireland (MHNMI) annual conference.

She said it was hard for people to admit to depression, and she argued that a change in employment laws was necessary to counter discrimination.

“I don’t know the statistics but if you are a managing director and you are off for six months with depression, you are out. You are fired,” she said.

“Also, if it is on your CV that you have depression good luck getting that job. So those laws have to change. They really do.”

Questioned on her experience of depression, given that she is regarded as one of the funniest people on television, she said: “Everyone says: ‘You are so healthy, you have a great job’. I would not say to someone with cancer: ‘You have great family and look how much money you are making’. I would not insult them like that.”

She said just as with cancer or diabetes it had nothing to do with what you do for a living.

“It is an illness. I am not in a bad mood. It is like a coma. If I had Alzheimer’s, which is a brain disease too, you would not say ‘snap out of it’. It is nothing to do with what you do for a living.”

Explaining how she uses humour to highlight the issue in her show, she said: “When I start talking about mental illness, people in the audience start nodding their heads. If it is not you it is your mother or brother.”

Wax, who plans to visit Knock Shrine today, said it was important to use humour to get the message across, otherwise she would be “hammered to the ground”.

In his address, Patrick Benson, president of MHNMI, warned that members were afraid that stigma was preventing people from accessing mental health services at an early stage.

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maxaam0 wrote on 02 | 19 | 2013
I think it should be necessary for educational institutions to keep a depressive disorders attention class for kids between the age groups of 13-16 (Years 8,9,10,11) particularly at 14 as this is the age (from my encounter of being confessed to a youngster psychological unit) that people I have met begin being affected by depressive disorders. Many educational institutions keep Sex and Medication classes so why not psychological health? I myself got confessed to a youngster psychological device at 14 (just before my Fifteenth birthday) although I had been being affected by bad depressive disorders for the several weeks before. all best serials
ItsOkCampaign wrote on 09 | 19 | 2012
It is imperative that parents, teachers and peers at school are educated about depression. The signs of depression can easily be mistaken for just being a ‘grumpy teenager’ but the consequences can be far more serious. I think it should be compulsory for schools to hold a depression awareness workshop for children between the ages of 13-16 (Years 8,9,10,11) particularly at 14 as this is the age (from my experience of being admitted to an adolescent psychiatric unit) that the majority of people I have met start suffering from depression. Many schools hold Sex and Drugs workshops so why not mental health? I myself got admitted to an adolescent psychiatric unit at 14 (just before my 15th birthday) although I had been suffering from bad depression for the months prior. When, at the age of 14 I attempted suicide, many friends became quite distant, for this I do not blame them; At the age of 14 and no prior knowledge that depression was an actual illness it was alien to myself, and I know if I had been in the same situation as my friends were I would have backed off, mainly for fear of aggravating their situation and the fear of making their depression worse. Although I feel that if my peers had been educated on the matter, as well as teachers being educated on how to handle the situation it would have been a very different experience; but I hold no grudge. My online campaign the @ItsOkCampaign is aimed at educating young people outside the world of mental health about depression. I try to encourage people to keep a look out for the signs of depression in both themselves and peers and to talk out if they are having troubles or are scared friend may be suffering. I really hope one day a compulsory depression day is introduces into schools and teachers take a compulsory course on mental health. One day the stigma will be reduced, and I hope I can still get a job!
Vambo wrote on 09 | 14 | 2012
Mental health service for teenagers are virtually non-existant. My son had a 6-week course of CBT but because he was under 18 he had to have a group course. When he asked for one-to-one afterwards, they said he had to wait 6 months. This was even though he had said he was "desperate" for help. Two days later he put his hand through the glass on our front door. He damaged it so badly that he had to have an operation to repair nerves and tendons. And he is a PIANIST!. Now he is even more depressed because he cannot do all the things that make him happy, like horse-riding and learning to drive. He was only a month under 18 when he had the first course of CBT and he thought once he turned 18 he would be able to do the one-to-one course. I am disgusted that some jobsworth turned him away without even advising him to go elsewhere for help. So to say that stigma is preventing young people from getting help is only a small part of the problem - the main problem is that government cuts are already starting to bite, and the services are just not there. I can't go private with sessions costing £80 a go. My son was told he had to wait 6 months because of the waiting list. He cried his eyes out after being told this. There is just nobody to turn to.