Churchill called depression his Black Dog, and in difficult environments this serious illness can spiral down into disability and early death. I am glad that all our work in the 1990s Defeat Depression campaign to train GPs to recognise and treat depressed patients still bears fruit (Use of antidepressants exploded after financial crisis, study finds, 28 May) and it is no surprise that more pills are prescribed in Blackpool than in Brent. Three very common experiences when depressed are helplessness (including feeling trapped in a dead end job with a bullying boss); worthlessness (including feeling on society’s scrapheap); and hopelessness (feeling stuck in a neighbourhood for “losers”). The coalition’s policies on austerity (ie more suffering is good for the poor), patricians and plebians (eg what Etonian needs to know the price of milk?) and housing (renting is for riff-raff) have made many people feel helpless, worthless and hopeless for a long time. Do we look behind these statistics about pills and explode the depressing policies of despair?
Professor Woody Caan
Editor, Journal of Public Mental Health, Cambridge
Depressing news | @guardianletters
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