Counterpoint: Depression is NOT Something to be Normalized
Tennis star Naomi Osaka’s recent statements about her mental health struggles has the sports world buzzing about “normalizing” depression. Osaka revealed that she has faced “long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018”. Osaka also mentions that she has “had a really hard time coping”.
In addition, Osaka is receiving nearly universal support for defaulting out of her commitment to the French Open mid tournament for what many are calling “self-care”. The sentiment is that this type of “self-care” is the key ingredient to the process of “normalizing” the treatment of depression among athletes, and society in general.
As a mental skills coach, seeing social media influencers spread this idea of “self-care” as a treatment makes me cringe. Moreover, thinking that it’s helpful to “normalize” depression to help society cope with mental health issues also misses the point.
Don’t Normalize Depression, Normalize Teaching Mental Skills That Overcome Feeling Depressed
People often confuse feelings of depression with clinical depression. While nearly 3 million people a year are diagnosed with clinical depression, that number pales in comparison with the number of people who wake up with feelings of depression on a regular basis. Coping with clinical depression requires professional help that may lead to medication. On the other hand, coping with feelings of depression requires mental skills training, not “self-care”.
Normalizing these feelings by urging people to take “self-care” time may sound good in a tweet. Practically, however, spreading the message of “self-care” has no value. Particularly when the vast majority of people view “self-care” only as sleeping more, going to the spa, taking a vacation, and exercise.
Don’t get me wrong, those activities are useful during recovery, but those activities alone won’t treat feelings of depression. The message to “normalize” these behaviors as treatment for depression will only put people on a hamster wheel.
Instead, the message must be to normalize training mental skills in our society. Skills such as how to use positive training pain, reframing, mindfulness, habit stacking, intrinsic goal setting, and inhibitory control. These are mental skills you must train just like you train your body to be stronger.
This is what I find most frustrating when a famous athlete such as Naomi Osaka publicly discusses their mental health struggles. These athletes never talk about their treatment, only about their symptoms. But it’s the treatment that society needs to normalize. Furthermore, a major part of treatment, recovery, and prevention is learning how to train your mind to master new mental skills.