--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ONE OF THE REASONS that depression is so…" description: "\"“ONE OF THE REASONS that depression is so problematic—and deadly, leading to many of the forty thousand suicides in the United States each year—is that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/joshua-wolf-shenk-20627_depression_one-of-the-reasons-that-depression-is-so_709046.jpg" --- # ONE OF THE REASONS that depression is so problematic—and… ![“ONE OF THE REASONS that depression is so problematic—and deadly, leading to many of the forty thousand suicides in the United States each year—is that people are often loath to admit they are suffering, let alone explore it in detail.” quote by Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/joshua-wolf-shenk-20627_depression_one-of-the-reasons-that-depression-is-so_709046.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/joshua-wolf-shenk-20627_depression_one-of-the-reasons-that-depression-is-so_709046.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/joshua-wolf-shenk-20627_depression_one-of-the-reasons-that-depression-is-so_709046.jpg) > ““ONE OF THE REASONS that depression is so problematic—and deadly, leading to many of the forty thousand suicides in the United States each year—is that people are often loath to admit they are suffering, let alone explore it in detail.”” [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Depression is deadly partly because people resist acknowledging and examining their suffering. **In simple terms:** Stigma stops people from confronting depression. Key Takeaway Encourage open dialogue about mental health. Themes mental health stigma suicide Mood reflective serious Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - Therapy sessions - public health campaigns - support groups Key Concepts psychology social barriers self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - What prevents you from sharing pain? - How can societies reduce mental health stigma? A Different Perspective Cultural norms may still suppress honesty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) [Suicides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicides/) ## Related quotes > [“With more than thirty thousand suicides a year, the act is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-johnson/with-more-than-thirty-thousand-suicides-a-year-the-act-is-the-tenth/) [Craig Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-johnson/) > [“The real problem is that this devaluing of lament often betrays our failure to admit that our suffering is real and painful. Our failure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-m-kapic/the-real-problem-is-that-this-devaluing-of-lament-often-betrays-our-2/) [Kelly M. Kapic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-m-kapic/) > [“The value of solitude—one of its values—is, of course, that there is nothing to cushion against attacks from within, just as there is nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/the-value-of-solitude-one-of-its-values-is-of-course-that-there-is-2/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [The concept of the "good ol' days" must be one of our society's biggest delusions, top reasons for depression, as well as most often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-concept-of-the-good-ol-days-must-be-one-of-our-society-s-biggest/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But sometimes its hard to admit you're suffering too.It's like opening yourself up,knowing that you'll never be able to close yourself again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikkie/but-sometimes-its-hard-to-admit-you-re-suffering-too-it-s-like/) [Nikkie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikkie/) > [“The real problem is that this devaluing of lament often betrays our failure to admit that our suffering is real and painful. Our”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-m-kapic/the-real-problem-is-that-this-devaluing-of-lament-often-betrays-our/) [Kelly M. Kapic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-m-kapic/) > [There is no fulfillment in things whatsoever. And I think one of the reasons that depression reigns supreme amongst the rich and famous is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/there-is-no-fulfillment-in-things-whatsoever-and-i-think-one-of-the/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [“Some people would have killed themselves and/or someone else if they were single; and some people would not have done that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-people-would-have-killed-themselves-and-or-someone-else-if-they/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“We're all suicides. The tragedy is every day that we don't die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomm-quackenbush/we-re-all-suicides-the-tragedy-is-every-day-that-we-don-t-die/) [Thomm Quackenbush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomm-quackenbush/) > [What annoys a person who suicides? The life itself. Boredom. Tiredness that descends on every morning when you look at yourself at the mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/what-annoys-a-person-who-suicides-the-life-itself-boredom-tiredness/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“People commit thousands of small suicides every day that go unnoticed”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-godwin/people-commit-thousands-of-small-suicides-every-day-that-go-unnoticed/) [Gail Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-godwin/) > [But suicides have a special language. Like carpenters they want to know which tools. They never ask why build. Twice I have so simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/but-suicides-have-a-special-language-like-carpenters-they-want-to/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [All my life I have had the utmost admiration for suicides. I have always considered them superior to me in every way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/all-my-life-i-have-had-the-utmost-admiration-for-suicides-i-have/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [You can't drown yourself that simply. All good suicides involve speed and irreversibility, because the body will always move to protect itself against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-humphreys/you-can-t-drown-yourself-that-simply-all-good-suicides-involve-speed/) [Josephine Humphreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-humphreys/) > [“Some people’s self-esteem was secretly improved when they discovered that their then-lovers had killed themselves over them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-people-s-self-esteem-was-secretly-improved-when-they-discovered/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## More by Joshua Wolf Shenk > [“The Perspectives of Psychiatry, Paul R. McHugh and Phillip R. Slavney identify four approaches to a suffering person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/the-perspectives-of-psychiatry-paul-r-mchugh-and-phillip-r-slavney/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) > [“The individuals in great dyads will be very different from each other and very much alike. These simultaneous extremes generate the deep rapport and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/the-individuals-in-great-dyads-will-be-very-different-from-each-other/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) > [“In the fourth century, John Cassian described a condition among his fellow monks that he called “acedia”: a “weariness or distress of heart . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/in-the-fourth-century-john-cassian-described-a-condition-among-his/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) > [“creeping fear of madness often accompanies depression. Sufferers wonder if their black moods will ever lift, or if their feelings of alienation from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/creeping-fear-of-madness-often-accompanies-depression-sufferers/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) > [“The American tradition of separation of church and state grew directly from the freethinking of the Founders. After political independence, they considered independence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/the-american-tradition-of-separation-of-church-and-state-grew/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) > [“A person with a melancholy temperament had been fated with both an awful burden and what Byron called “a fearful gift.” The burden was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/a-person-with-a-melancholy-temperament-had-been-fated-with-both-an/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) > [“because of them, he worked all the harder in his thirties and forties to “make himself,” emotionally as well as materially, and go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/because-of-them-he-worked-all-the-harder-in-his-thirties-and-forties/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) > [“The distinction is essential. Fault implies a failure or weakness for which a person should be held to account, if not outright blamed. Misfortune…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/the-distinction-is-essential-fault-implies-a-failure-or-weakness-for/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) > [“In the early nineteenth century, a new culture—a new idea about what to hope for—emerged for many Americans, centered around the independent self, under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/in-the-early-nineteenth-century-a-new-culture-a-new-idea-about-what/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) > [“Lincoln was raised in the thick of Old School Calvinism. In Kentucky and Indiana, his parents belonged to a fire-breathing sect called Separate Baptism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/lincoln-was-raised-in-the-thick-of-old-school-calvinism-in-kentucky/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) > [“As late as 1820, families made three quarters of all goods—food, clothing, tools—for their own use.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/as-late-as-1820-families-made-three-quarters-of-all-goods-food/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) > [“You say you are conservative—eminently conservative—while we are revolutionary, destructive, or something of the sort. What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/you-say-you-are-conservative-eminently-conservative-while-we-are/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) > [“He arrived tentatively at his own idea, that melancholy arose from natural, sometimes beneficent forces. Talking about it in plain human terms was his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/he-arrived-tentatively-at-his-own-idea-that-melancholy-arose-from/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) > [“Suffering was not a punishment from beyond or a malevolent infestation of the soul. Like the earth turning on its axis or energy passing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/suffering-was-not-a-punishment-from-beyond-or-a-malevolent/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) > [“sickness of hope deferred,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/sickness-of-hope-deferred/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) [Explore all 30 Joshua Wolf Shenk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) ## More Depression quotes > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/) Kirsten Gilchrist > [“my stomach turned and burned with the acid of failure”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-ames/my-stomach-turned-and-burned-with-the-acid-of-failure/) Heidi Ames > [That is the real problem of depression - a condition which will affect an estimated one in five of the population at some point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-andreae/that-is-the-real-problem-of-depression-a-condition-which-will-affect/) [Giles Andreae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-andreae/) > [Im tired, tired of putting more effort than you do. Im tired of always having to start the conversation and if I dont, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-tired-tired-of-putting-more-effort-than-you-do-im-tired-of-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-na-ve-and-innocent-girl-who-thought-she/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“Why in depression" "If we are human, why not have the right to smile, Why in depression, young, and beautiful as earth, Why in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanilsa-pena/why-in-depression-if-we-are-human-why-not-have-the-right-to-smile-why/) Yanilsa pena > [“Depression makes me stronger”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shayamalan/depression-makes-me-stronger/) Shayamalan > [“Shorter believes that psychosomatic illnesses (such as leg paralysis at the turn of the twentieth century or multiple personality disorder at the turn of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-watters/shorter-believes-that-psychosomatic-illnesses-such-as-leg-paralysis/) [Ethan Watters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-watters/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Repression will provoke rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-williamson/repression-will-provoke-rebellion/) Hugh Williamson > [I'm certainly not a perfect mother, but I'm trying to be what my mother wasn't for me. My mother's battled depression, so I understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-hamill/i-m-certainly-not-a-perfect-mother-but-i-m-trying-to-be-what-my/) [Dorothy Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-hamill/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) James Buckham Kennedy > [Scars by Papa Roach. <3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophielianne/scars-by-papa-roach-3/) Sophielianne [Browse all 4,965 Depression quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“ONE OF THE REASONS that depression is so problematic—and deadly, leading to many of the forty thousand suicides in the United States each year—is that people are often loath to admit they are suffering, let alone explore it in detail.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joshua Wolf Shenk" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/one-of-the-reasons-that-depression-is-so-problematic-and-deadly/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Depression" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/one-of-the-reasons-that-depression-is-so-problematic-and-deadly/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/joshua-wolf-shenk-20627_depression_one-of-the-reasons-that-depression-is-so_709046.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/joshua-wolf-shenk-20627_depression_one-of-the-reasons-that-depression-is-so_709046.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/joshua-wolf-shenk-20627_depression_one-of-the-reasons-that-depression-is-so_709046.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“ONE OF THE REASONS that depression is so problematic—and deadly, leading to many of the forty thousand…” — Joshua Wolf Shenk", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joshua Wolf Shenk", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“ONE OF THE REASONS that depression...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/one-of-the-reasons-that-depression-is-so-problematic-and-deadly/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/one-of-the-reasons-that-depression-is-so-problematic-and-deadly/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```