This is a part of the Hot Topic podcast series from the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center on TBI and Depression. Dr. Chuck Bombardier discusses Stigma of Depression as a Barrier to Treatment.

I think the greatest barrier to getting treatment, from what I’ve seen on the – from the person’s point of view is that they don’t want to be labeled as being depressed. And so one of the things we try to do, basically, is, we try to avoid labeling people. It doesn’t really help a lot of times, necessarily, to say, oh, you’re depressed. I want to tell you, “Listen. On this assessment we just did, you told me that you’re not sleeping, you feel bad about yourself, you feel down and blue, you don’t enjoy anything anymore. You feel fatigued. Sometimes you have thoughts of death or suicide. We have ways we can help you recover from those symptoms, and I’m wondering if you’d be willing to work with us on that.”

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