There is still some dispute over the exact cause of George
Washington’s death. Some believe
it was pneumonia. Most now believe
it was a severe throat infection of some kind.
Washington's Death |
There is no dispute, however, over the ignorance of the treatment
given to Washington in an attempt to save his life. Many of you are familiar with the fact that the main
treatment given to Washington was to bleed him. They drew out 3.75 liters of blood, a very large
amount. He may well have survived
had they not bled him so. As it stands,
they may have inadvertently killed him.
That’s what they did do.
Something they didn’t do was perform a tracheostomy, a simple surgery
where the throat is cut open so that breathing would be restored, and so that
any secretions might be removed.
Two of the younger doctors attempted to convince the elder, trusted
physicians to try this (at the time) very new and controversial surgery. The elder physicians went with what was
trusted, and elected to forego the tracheostomy.
Had they not performed the bloodletting and/or performed the
tracheostomy, Washington almost certainly would have survived.
Thing is, the physicians were acting out of ignorance. It is easy to judge them, but they were
doing the best they could. They
were acting on what was at the time, cutting edge knowledge. They were acting on what they thought
they knew to be best. Sadly, it
doesn’t change the outcome of Washington’s fate, nor many others who suffered
from a needless, harmful treatment.
Many suffered and died at the hands of ignorance.
Were it not for a desire to learn, a desire to discover the
truth, we might still be using this treatment today. People asked questions, challenged the status quo. At every turn, the new is challenged
and the accepted truth defended.
Fortunately, through the boldness of a few, the truth usually eventually
wins out.
It is such a change that is needed now with depression. Depression is the third most common
disease in the world, and as is the fastest growing. It is predicted to become the most common disease by
2030. Yet, unlike many less common
illnesses, most people don’t even want to recognize the truth of it’s
existence.
My challenge to you is to consider the fact that depression
is going to touch your life whether you want it to or not. There are depressed people all around
you. Yet, so harsh is the stigma,
so ignorant are the reactions to depression, that they are not only probably
going to hide it from you, and everyone else, but they are going to do
everything they can to deny the truth themselves. Because of ignorance, an inability to change and grow,
millions of people are suffering needlessly, they are not getting the help they
need. Just like with George
Washington, the problem is treatable.
Depression is a beatable disease.
Yet, again, just like with Washington, we are treating those with the
disease poorly, and we are not giving them the help they actually need to
overcome.
You may think this is someone else’s problem. It is not. Your father, mother, friend, son, daughter, brother, someone
is going to suffer through this.
Do you really want to be like those doctors who drew Washington’s blood? Thirty years from now depression will
be known for what it is. Do you
really want to be the person that allows their own prejudice, fear, and
ignorance to hurt those around them?
Don’t you want to be the man or woman who actually helps those they
love? I know you do. We all do.
Mental Illness is a very misunderstood concept. People think it is vastly more
mysterious than other illnesses.
Most see it as wholly different from being a real medical illness,
something closer to voodoo, best to be treated with tricks of the mind or some
other weird treatment, or better yet, to roll your eyes at, because it’s a all
just weakness from weak people.
Most mental illnesses don’t START in the mind. They aren’t floating in the land of
thoughts. They are physical in
nature and AFFECT the mind. Take
dementia. Another illness once not
understood. We used to just think
people’s minds got old. We called
it senility. Now we know that the
brain actually deteriorates, and there is a growth of compassion and treatment
with that understanding. Clinical
Depression is physical in nature.
As of now, what we understand it to be is an unbalancing of the hormones
of the body and chemicals in the brain.
Those shifting hormones and chemicals mess with our minds. Everyone on Earth experiences this in
some way. We all experience
puberty. Women endure PMS and
later menopause. All of us are at
the behest of these chemicals and hormones, and have a limited ability to
control how we actually feel. With
depression, what little ability to control is stripped.
So, telling someone to simply get over their clinical
depression won’t help any more than telling someone with cancer to stop having
cancer. If you want to help,
understand the truth of the problem and fight it. You wouldn’t fight cancer by telling people to get over it,
so stop doing so with depression.
You fight cancer with the means we have. You do chemo, leaches, whatever. Do the same with depression. Go get help for you or your loved one. Go to the doctor, see a psychiatrist, a
counselor, a pastor. Let go
of the archaic knowledge that is prevalent about depression, and embrace the truth,
lest you be like those doctors who let out Washington’s blood, and resisted
giving him the surgery that would have saved his life. Your loved one’s life is worth the
difficult task of accepting a hard truth that can save it.
As always, remember that God is with you and loves you. Depression is beatable. It is going to be okay, as long as you
don’t quit. Keep fighting. If you have any questions or thoughts,
please write me. I’d be happy to
talk to you.
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