Treatment Online

Gubernatorial Hopeful Bows Out to Focus on Depression
> 6/27/2006 8:36:55 AM

In something of an opinion piece from Sunday's Washington Post Johns Hopkin's professor of Psychiatry and author Kay Redfield Jamison praises former Maryland gubernatorial canidate Doug Duncan for his vocalness about his battle with depression in bowing out of the race. As the writer mentions, often times politicians and those in positions of power are reticent to discuss issues of mental health for fear that it will tarnish their reputations as decision makers.

Unfortunately, these very decision makers are in a unique position to not only spread the word about depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia among other disorders, but they have the power to drive healthcare policy. By choosing to be public about his health and his depression, Duncan, the county executive of Montgomery County, has made it clear that not only is depression not something to be ashamed of, but like other health probelms, getting the appropriate depression treatment is an important part of moving forward. By seeking depression treatment, Duncan has set an example for others. We can only hope that soon he is ready to get back to his job, leading the residents of Maryland.

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