MYTH NO. 2: "CONTROL YOUR THOUGHTS AND YOU WILL BE ALL RIGHT ."

Fact: In Depressive Disease thoughts are beyond the control of the patient. If a person complaints of too many thoughts or says that he has no mood to work, the immediate reaction from family members is "Control your thoughts and you will alright, be confident and nothing will happen to you’.

It is important to understand that unlike in the case of a normal person, a depressed person has no control over his thoughts and mood, hence advising a depressed patient to control his thoughts is like advising a patient suffering from typhoid fever "control your fever and you will be alright". In both cases i.e. controlling fever in typhoid and controlling thoughts in depressive illness are not easy and require specific treatment. The family members and relatives need to understand the futility of such advice and help them seek professional help.