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by starpilot 3038 days ago
The general idea is true though. For a depressed person, we aim to isolate them with a clinician instead of surrounding them with friends. We even use "therapy" as a kind insult: "You should go to therapy!" as if mental illness is something to be shamed.

The overall notion is that there's something wrong with people who are depressed, and that we'd rather wash our hands of it than help them. We have similar attitudes toward the homeless and the incarcerated. It's a very puritan/Calvinist attitude, that "certain people" are innately bad, but pervasive in even progressively minded Americans.

1 comments

Friends/therapist is a false dichotomy, any good therapist encourages socializing.

Depressed people are not mentally healthy, it's a condition that can lead to suicide. Being sad is not bad, but when someone is diagnosed with depression, or any mental disorder, it's because it's affecting their lives negatively.

Also the rooms have do have lights in them.