Good day all,
I may have chimed in on this thread a while ago. I did not know Matt H very well, but I have seen him from time to time out in the field, where his work was his passion. God rest his soul.
I knew another person much more, Erig Nguyen, who succombed to the effects (direct or not / medication) from depression back in 2007, just a mere 2 months after chasing with him. I would have NEVER known, but sometimes, as with Matt, "who" knows.
Depression is an AWEFUL thing. I myself, and I am sure many others, suffered from mild depression. I am lucky, because in my case it was, just that: MILD. To me, it felt very far from mild. It not only took it's toll on my feeling and esteem, but destroyed trust as well. But this was 20+ years ago.
Basically, the labeling of depression as a mental illness causes its problem exacerbation simply because of ignorance. I once worked with a woman who had moderate depression. She showed some of this at the workplace, and asked for help for it (insurance / referral wise through HR) ... She was fired.
Later on, I found she was hospitalized for attempted suicide after she lost her home, her husband, and her financial security. Yet, meanwhile - at the SAME company ... A man had a heart attack. The SAME company gave him 2 months off, temp-disability, and when he got well, he returned to the office (I often saw him smoking with the other sales people) ... WHY was the woman with HER "medical" condition NOT treated the SAME way?
That's WHY we have these people with depression getting worse. We all LOST Eric N, now Matt H, who knows how many more out there with this aweful illness.
When I had depression (mild) back in the day, far MORE than 50% of comments were that "my condition is mental, and we do not deal with that" ... Ahh "the brain can be a b-- sometimes" ... There it is. That's the problem. Need to U-N-D-E-R-S-T-A-N-D and R-E-S-P-E-C-T (?)
I pray for all with depression ... And also pray for them to be accepted, and most of all, loved by their closest family, friends, AND co-workers.
Medications? With all those aweful side effects ... I threw mine in the trash years back for my 'mild' case! Simply talking to someone works WONDERS with depression. Having a caring boss and / or friends and family is better than any medicine ... And the side effects won't cause diabetes or stroke in 55% as with "Abilify" ;-)
Oh, and a storm chasing buddy of mine, George K, told me he knows a formerly depressed guy who was magically cured once he took-up storm chasing!