Masks

I don't understand the idea of advertising mental health services to those in need.  Would anyone advertise coma services to people in comas?  Of course not.  They're incapable of taking advantage.  Perhaps that's an extreme analogy, but I think the general trend remains.

You might recall the tragically ironic data that was found on anti-depressants, that they were increasing suicide rates.  What a strange thing.  But maybe it should have been predictable.

A starving person has low energy and isn't really in a condition to hunt.  Take off my glasses and I'll have trouble finding them.  Angry people shout and make everyone else angry.  Violence begets violence.  It's a positive feedback loop, in the sense that it builds on itself to make the problem worse.  Positive feedback in the negative direction, like multiplying a negative.

The depressed person has low energy.  It's a terrible problem because it only makes itself worse, making the basic functioning of life more difficult, let alone improvement.  The very failure at life which might justify some reduced esteem is caused by the initial reduction, and so it feeds on itself.  The medications can then restore some energy, but of course life is not immediately fixed, and so the person finally finds the energy and motivation to do what shouldn't be done.

So to loop it back to the advertising, how is a depressed person capable of using the services?  Admitting a problem, to complete strangers, talking to them, going to a strange new place, those all seem like unrealistic demands.

Maybe if they had some support it would help.  Someone to help them along.  Like a friend.  But how is the friend supposed to help when he may not even know?  That's the other problem: people maintain face.  They keep up their fronts.  In Japan there was a strange-appearing phenomenon of unemployed men, husbands often, who would dress up on their business attire and every morning, go off to somewhere and return in the evening.  It was a sad theater of keeping up the appearance.

The advertising could target the friends.  Which I suppose would be everyone.  But to say what?  Talk to your friend and see how they are.  As if that's going to do it.  Talk normally and the front is still there.  Try to break it down and most of the time you're just insulting a friend.  So what is there to do, look for warning signs?  Such as what?  Social withdrawal sounds like a place to start, but maybe they're just introverted or busy.  Failing at work or school?  Perhaps, but not failing is part of the front.  Keeping up appearances, no matter the difficulty, because it is all that is left.  It's the last line of defense against the horrible complete realization of what is going on inside one's  own head.  What an awful place for an enemy.