this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2025
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me_irl
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Being depressed and being anxious are not the same thing as the medical conditions known colloquially as "depression" and "anxiety".
Equivocating the two is part of the reason mental health treatment is stigmatized, and is what causes dangerously-dismissive statements like "he can't have depression, he has a good life".
This is true, though most people asked that in a casual doctor's appointment aren't actually equipped to delve into that nuance.
Of course, that "no" is the way to extend the conversation to dig a bit deeper. The last thing someone suffering with the conditions needs is for someone to optimistically assume "normal" and brush a potential sign of trouble under the rug as 'normal'. Maybe after a bit more digging it's clear it's just reasonable sadness or nervousness versus something deeper, like a seeming inability to feel pleasure or happiness.