Overly depressed?
Red flags
Get help, speaker says
Crisis phone numbers By Lori Tighe
Star-BulletinIf mental illness were a headache, most people wouldn't take aspirin.
So says Bud Bowles, who speaks to public groups about why people depressed beyond two weeks should get help -- but don't.
"Abraham Lincoln had it, Napoleon had it, Winston Churchill had it. Mental illness is common and treatable, but people often don't get help because of the stigma," he said.
"We have to get people over the reluctance of getting help when they don't feel good."
Funded by a $40,000 state grant, Bowles began speaking this spring to groups such as the Rotary, Kiwanis, and youth correctional centers. If a group asks him to speak, he'll go.
One out of four women and one out of 10 men suffer severe depression in their lifetime, said Bowles, founder of United Self-Help Group and a longtime board member of the Mental Health Association.
"The rate for men is higher, because now we're finding men are just hiding it," he said.
Although mental illness is common, only about a third suffering get help. The majority turn to drugs and alcohol, Bowles said. "People feel they can duke it out." Depression has many causes, including environmental and genetic, said Dr. Alvin "Ned" Murphy, a psychiatrist who accompanies Bowles on his talks.
Sometimes the difference between depression and grief is a fine line, Murphy said.
But grief is usually limited, lasting three to six months. Depression has no time limit and can last a few days to a lifetime, Murphy said.
"We recommend people seek help if their depression lasts longer than two weeks," he said. "That's the key, because the body can shut down."
Help can be a single counseling session, or include ongoing therapy and medication.
"Certainly people need to hear this message," said Neal Wooden, a Kiwanis member who heard Bowles and Murphy speak. "People are afraid to get help. People may think you may not be able to make decisions, if you're in a position of power."
Bowles has personal experience with the secrecy that can surround mental illness. A captain in the National Guard, he said he answered "yes" to a question on a physical: Do you get depressed?
He said military doctors told him not to mention his condition. "They checked me out and said, 'What are you doing here? Never tell the truth about mental illness again.' "
Bowles, 51, who owns an ad agency, said he recalled feeling long bouts of depression since the third grade. He cried for weeks when President Kennedy died. But he thought his depression was normal, until a college roommate offered to pay for a counseling session.
He was diagnosed with a chemical deficiency and was put on lithium. He's been in support groups ever since and periodically takes Prozac, commonly prescribed for depression.
"I knew I was making progress when I saw the Challenger astronauts blow up in the mid-'80s -- and I said 'Gee that's very sad,' but I didn't feel I was their closest relative," Bowles said.
The Mental Health Association this holiday season received contributions and grants totaling $14,911 to promote mental health and improve services for children and adults in Hawaii. Donations pour in
The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation's "Sharing the Joys of the Holidays" project donated $10,000; Pfizer Inc. gave $2,000; AstraZeneca gave $1,000; Eli Lilly donated $500; Bristol-Myers Squibb gave $500; SmithKline Beecham gave $500; and Foodland's Give Aloha Program donated $411.
Warning signs for mental illnesses. If one or more of the following occurs for more than two weeks, seek help. Red flags
Feel stuck, trapped, or your life is out of control.
In a crisis, call 911, dial "0," or call: Crisis phone numbers
Oahu
Hawaii
Maui/Molokai/Lanai
