I also think that it basically comes down to pictures being exactly that – snapshots. Pictures that represent glimpses in time DO NOT necessarily represent someone’s overall state. Work requires consistency, that this woman be well most (if not, all) of the time.

Let’s be fair here..the most that we can arguably deduce from snapshots is that she is well/functional SOME of the time. It still leaves most of this woman’s day to day life in the dark.

Perhaps the ignorant people do not know how wellness fluctuates as you struggle with the illness. It is not the same as discovering pictures of an employee with a bad back, or severe physical ailment playing sports!

Can we (or the insurance company) legally assume that the pictures are representative of her day-to-day state? I would guess not. I’d get a lawyer if I were her. But that’s the healthy me talking! lol!

Inconsistent performance/being well some of the time is not good enough to keep a job, I should know. I’m sure I’ve had coworkers who derided whta they perceived to be “excuses”. I just kept doing the best I could (working inconsistently) until I was ultimately fired. It would have been better for me and my company if I had taken voluntary leave earlier…..like the woman in the story.

Guess you can’t win either way.

Depression (and mental illness in genral) is still taboo in our society – this does NOT help the sufferers, or our society as a whole. Major Deprsesive Disorder cannot be overcome by sheer will. We don’t know the story behind the story. Perhaps this woman tried forever to gather enough enthuasiasm for life to try to force herself to take a vacation, for instance. I was a very “successful” executive in my field when I was diagnosed. I lost my job and spent a year off work, and another year-plus doing reduced work, trying to get back into my career, etc. I was in a part time program at the hospital and worked with a number of professionals (psychologists/doctors, etc). One critical part of my recovery plan was to focus on summoning the strength to act as if I weren’t depressed…by finding the things that I used to find pleasurable, and doing them anyway…even though this probably won’t bring me any joy for some time. So I did. Somedays I still couldn’t get out of the house. Somedays I was good enough for day trips, I worked up to going to the beach for a weekend. Point is – I could have been the woman in the picture. And I was far from ready to work again at the time. I look back on it and feel fortunate that depression didn’t claim my life as well. I’m lucky, more than you know.

Now – imagine if this woman had been off work because she was tired from cancer treatment – or another illness that wouldn’t be judged out of ignorance. I doubt many of the sceptics would be as critical. Perhaps this was a break between rounds of chemo, for instance. Regardless, I think more of us would agree that the pictures do not constitute damning evidence.

Perhaps this woman left the pictures up intentionally, having fallen out of all her social and professional circles due to the illness – I suspect that she may have been relieved to have a single picture to post to stop the rumor mill, reassure worried people that she was recovering, etc.

We have all ready about the severely depressed person that, left untreated and at the lowest depth of the illness – abruptly start acting cheerful and normal again. Immediately prior to suicide! This is not as uncommon as you might think. Surely, these people are extremely disabled despite the fact that they seem otherwise on the outside for a period of time.

Moreover, adjusting to antidepressants usually comes with alot of side effects (you can’t drive, sleep properly, etc). You must get through them and wait for them to subside before you know if the drug will help you. During this time, you wouldn’t be able to work or do anything that requires accountability/consistent behaviour – but it’s entirely plausible that you could vacation.

I felt personally ashamed of myself when I was diagnosed. I never though of myself as someone who could be clinically depressed. I bet the cynics are in the same shoes as I was. But I wasn’t at fault, any more than I would be with a diagnosis of diabetes or anything eles. Why do we regard mental illness with such bias and ignorance? Just like we can have a range of ailments (and levels of disability) with our physical bodies (from a cold, to a flu, to a disorder to a more debilitating disease)…wouldn’t it naturally follow that we can have a spectrum of mental illness and related levels of disability too? But people that contend with the later deal not just with the disability (and depression can be very physical as well for the record) – but also the social stigma and fear of being judged badly for something that is not their fault. Ironically this makes people sicker, and delays many people from getting a faster diagnosis.

The gall of some people…I am sure she has proof of a medical diagnosis, and her doctor would attest to asking her to try to take a trip to aid the road to recovery – to be cynical is to discount not just the woman/victim, but it also implies that you’re diagnosis is superior to that of her own doctor. Such ignorance and stigma is all too common. Future generations will look at our misconceptions/ignorance of depression as unthinkably backward and marvel at how society has changed.

Until society becomes more educated about depression- the single biggest disability in terms of common prevalence and cost to companies – things won’t get any better. The ironic twist is that social awareness would result in faster diagnosis/easier to treat illness, less “pre-senteeism” to people midly affected but non-productive at work, and less time missed from work (and life) altogether.

If the Dr. prescribed the sun and vacation, she should be allowed the benefits.

Have a wonderful day…..:-)

Having been clinically depressed to the point of planning a suicide…if I had had the energy to go on vacation, I would likely not tried to overdose. If the idea of being around ANYONE, let alone strippers had not been repulsive and I avoided company and contact at all costs, someone might have figured out that I was going to try to kill myself sooner. It was a friend who was trying to get me to go out and have lunch that saved my life by not taking ‘no’ for an answer and coming to my house.

In the three months that I was depressed I had one pix was taken and I looked like a ghoul. Posing for a picture–in a bikini? Regardless of whether or not a picture is just a record in time, it’s the entire concept of being WILLING and ABLE to have the picture taken in the venue that it was taken…..

Sometimes belief in oneself is half the battle, and for someone living with depression, that is hard. I have physical disabilities as well as long-term relapsing depression, and it has taken me a long time to believe I am capable of doing a job of more than a few hours per week. I am now awaiting a start date for a new job, I am happy to say. But I got there by thanks to a lot of support, and a great deal of psychological help.

Comments like “stop being lazy”, are precisely what kept me so low, and prevented me from taking on more work, for years.