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Just anxiety, just depression...

Alien0n3arth

This post is going to be short probably. It intrigues me and I don't understand,  why it's often written in articles in the Internet, "is it autism or just anxiety?" Or "Autism or just trauma?" Etc. Does it imply, that Autism is a serious condition while anxiety or ptsd are just minor inconvenience? In fact the amount of struggling does not depend only on specific diagnosis,  but rather the severity of symptoms. Is this "just" added because the other conditions are curable? - only if the professionals know how to care it. How many people get diagnosed with depression and anxiety for decades, although these conditions should be cured within a year or two?

I joined once a forum for people with ptsd, as I also experienced terrible abuse (No details here) and honestly the severity of some symptoms described there was shocking for me. 

So I'm wondering if it means, that tge other conditions are not being treated seriously or what else would be the reason for saying "just depression " etc. 

Or maybe I'm too obsessive to overthink just one word in a sentence. Anyone has opinion or clue about it?

Parents

  • The word ‘just’, in this case, is an adverb which in your examples means ‘only’, ’simply’ or ‘merely’.

    It’s not possible to comprehend the intent of the writer from the title alone. The main clause is about autism, so that seems to be what the writer is focusing on. It would depend on the context of the whole article, so you would infer the meaning from that, rather than (just) the title.

    If the focus of the article was about autism, it mightn’t necessarily be undermining those with depression or anxiety, but on the other hand, the author might be dismissive of anxiety/depression or ignorant about their seriousness.

     

  • in reply to ArchaeC

    Thank you for the explanation. I saw these sentences in the middle of an article, where there was a comparison between autism and other conditions- similar symptoms,  different reason. 

    I don't think in this case there should be separating them into more and less serious conditions. 

Reply Children
  • in reply to ArchaeC

    If I were a young person today I think I'd be sad and anxious too, they've not got much to look forward too, little work around, having to jump through huge hoops to get it, and it's often poorly paid, the climate's horrible and going to get worse. They've little hope of owning a house and rents are extortionate. Under these circumstances hainv a family seems an imposible unaffordable dream, they know they won't be able to give thier children the advantages that many of them have had.

  • in reply to Alien0n3arth
    Alien0n3arth said:
    it's all not that black white.

    Yes, exactly.

    Generalisations can be alright when referring to some things like ‘most people’, or ‘some people’, but categorising autistic people or those with depression/anxiety as all one thing is wrong, and the media unfortunately, sometimes does just that.

  • in reply to ArchaeC

    In my case it was doctors, professionals unable to distinguish someone looking sad from someone with depression. I know of some cases where people make up depression symptoms and easily get sick leave for few months. So it's all not that black white. Yes, there is narrative that hurts those who really struggle and there are people who abuse the system. Unfortunately the perception of all mental illness is either fear of 'insane' person or diminishing and not taking seriously.

  • in reply to Alien0n3arth

    I know those who diagnose look to different conditions to see if they might be a better fit for the ‘symptoms’ or the difficulties. In that context, I think it is rational because medical people do that all the time with conditions and illnesses. I don’t think it means one condition is always more impactful on a person’s life than another — it may be — but it doesn’t have to be.

    If an article is suggesting that ‘just depression’ or ‘just anxiety’ means ‘it’s ok’, ‘phew’, ‘it’s nothing to worry about’ etc., that would be foolish and potentially serious.

    I don’t know what it’s like in Germany, but here, some politicians and the media have been complaining about the number of young people out of work and claiming benefits for ‘depression and anxiety’. They say young people can’t tell the difference between ‘sadness’ and ‘depression’. I think that is an irresponsible and dangerous thing to promote and it is spreading the wrong message. It’s bound to have an impact on society’s perception of the illness, as does the ASD & ADHD ‘over diagnosis’ narrative. 

    I think that more people are beginning to understand what ASD is now, why there has been an increase in diagnosis and how it affects people differently. I am hoping that there will be a big push back on narratives about anxiety and depression too. The root cause goes much deeper than ‘sad people not wanting to work’.