Has the media set up depression as a justifiable excuse for people’s mistakes?

Has the media set up depression as a justifiable excuse for people’s mistakes?
BIG FAT YES !

A fine example are the sports player managers who go through the
following steps when there’s a crisis aided by helpful and timely reporting.

1 – Bad boy does bad. (Yep, sexist, but give me an example of the female)
2 – Team outrage burst forth online with scorn and vitriol towards Bad boy.
3 – Bad boy goes into hiding and doesn’t own his own s&%t.
4 – Bad boy reportedly on suicide watch.
5 – 2nd wave of online outrage of supporters / protectors of Bad boy.
6 – Bad boy lays low or is flown to rehab in an overseas location to avoid drug testing.
7 – Bad boy returns with a well prepared statement.
8 – Nearly everything is forgotten except in online memes.
9 – No repercussions worthy of point 1.

It can take between 2 and 12 months for this to be played out.

Great article, Oliver. I hate that you’re probably definitely right, but I love that you wrote about it.

Interesting. Any other examples outside of Lyons here?

I do feel that depression and anxiety are being almost glamorised in some ways by some in the spotlight and in the reporting of them, for many young, esp female, Instacelebs a stint in a ward is worn like a medal.

This is a delicate subject and this is the right place for the conversation.

For quite a while, there was a agreement amongst the mainstream media that suicide would not be directly reported as such, sometimes replaced with the euphemism ‘no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death’. The were a few reasons for this, one in particular being the fear of triggering similar episodes.

This convention has loosened of late, with this change in attitude based on the premise that to address the situation might be more beneficial than avoiding it. So now these pieces have the mention of a helpline – usually beyondblue – at the end of them. There doesn’t seem to have been an influx of the instances of suicide in the press relative to the amount I suspect is actually happening, but the convention of pointing to help at the end of the piece has become a mandatory when issues around mental disorders or illnesses are reported on.

With concern for compounding the adverse mental condition within a reported sufferer, there seems to have been an understanding to leave the reported individual alone to deal with the condition.

With regards the Gary Lyon circumstances and the Lance Franklin circumstances, what’s notable is that with Franklin the press left the situation alone after the pronouncement of a mental illness, whereas in the case of Lyon the reporting has continued.

Which leaves me wondering whether the labelling of ‘mental illness’ is becoming (or already was) a PR smokescreen tactic in an attempt to avoid further scrutiny as well as an excuse for behaviour.

The difficulty for the press is twofold;

1) In order to characterise a condition as a genuine mental illness would require confirmation from the medical professionals who diagnosed the individual, which strikes me as too intrusive but the way things are going possibly necessary.

2) If the type of mental illness occupies a spectrum, what is the threshold beyond which the subject should be left alone?

I’m not sure the press has covered itself in glory over the Gary Lyons situation, but equally they shouldn’t be relying on unsubstantiated claims as fact.

Thank you for a well-balanced piece Oliver.

@Antony G – points well made and thank you for taking the time to respond to my piece.

In terms of suicide, as you mention, from what I understand, there is less desire to give individual circumstances exposure in a bid to ensure the behaviour doesn’t become normalised. The more exposure people have to it, the more it becomes an option because it feels less taboo. Like anything, the more people that do it, the more you can justify doing it.

I think the difference between the Buddy issue and Lyon issue is that Buddy hadn’t done anything wrong that sparked his announcement. Whilst a lot of people were speculating about what was going to come following his decision to stand down due to his mental health, nothing ever did. There was no drama. There was no fuck up. The press weren’t running articles about how Buddy had done X (enter outrage and details of what he’s done), and signing it off with the fact he may be significantly struggling with depression. It was solely about Buddy’s battle. Nothing else. That’s the press we want and need. It was very much focused on his mental health which was echoing a clear message that even the strongest individuals battle. Whilst horrible for Buddy, a light for many young impressionable males struggling with their own battles to scared to speak up or reach out for help.

In the instance of the Lyon situation, there’s a huge amount of soap-opera drama following this around. It’s why we’re still reading about it (especially if you’re in Melbourne). It’s in this instance that a lot of the articles relating to the issue seem to have the priority of spreading the hollywood story, for which his mental health struggles are as you say, dropped in at the bottom with a CTA to contact someone like beyondblue if you’re struggling. It’s this sort of reporting that frames illnesses like depression as the excuse, rather than perhaps, the cause. It’s given no proper context and tends to undermine how serious it may actually be. As I mention in my piece, it’s a very dangerous precedent – both for giving people an easy out when they do fuck up, but worse yet, for belittling how serious and scary the issue is for people actually struggling with it. It’s not fair for those of us that battle it day in and day out if it becomes the ‘go-to’ smokescreen for people with exposure to mainstream media.

In saying all that, I’m not here to comment on Lyon’s own mental health issues because I know nothing about them – and even if I did, it wouldn’t be my place to do so. I only hope that he’s surrounded by loads of loved ones through what is sure to be a very tough time.

I agree that yes this is the case however this now trickles down into businesses every day because the general public keep seeing these sports people and celebrities use this as an excuse. Before it was ‘exhaustion’. Now it’s depression. We have so many people taking time off due to mental illness yet those people were perhaps not great at their jobs in the first place and in danger of being moved along so they have used depression as a get out of jail free card in many cases and it’s making us all desensitised to the fact that people actually do really struggle with this illness on a day to day basis.
I know people with depression and they actually aren’t publicising this so the fact that some people are openly saying things makes other people question their motives.
I think the media should respect people in the public eye more and report on the facts and not sensationalise everything to the point that we are complacent about topical issues.

@Oli. Appreciate your responding to my comments.

When initially reported, the Franklin circumstances included speculation of an ‘affair’;

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....ffair.html

and also speculation around illicit drug use

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/a.....ji2lz.html

Whilst it’s not my place to say whether or not this speculation was unfounded, further examination of the subject has been quashed within the media.

I must also note that Gary Lyon has not really ‘fucked up’. He appears to have done the dirty on his mate with another consenting adult, and suffered public opprobrium for breaching an informal code. But nothing illegal seems to have occurred.

I make these above points only to indicate the complexities around the subject. I wholeheartedly agree that it is absolutely disgraceful for any individual or organisation to take the reporting around mental illness lightly, but let’s be honest – if there’s a chance to exploit this as a ‘loophole’ there are certainly those in our society who will.

@Antony G agreed that there will always be people looking to exploit it. Which is heartbreaking. But it’s reality. My only hope in starting this conversation is that the media do as much as they can to ensure they don’t aid it. Just give the issue the respect it deserves, regardless of whether the individual is or isn’t exploiting the issue.

And before those reading the comments take anything out of context, I’m by no means suggesting Gary Lyon is exploiting anything, nor directly outlining that he ‘fucked up’. have very little understanding of the specific circumstances surrounding the story. My comments are nothing to do with Gary’s issue and his mental health and all about how the media have reported on them.

Sharing stories of people that have experienced mental illness can increase awareness, reduce stigma and promote hope.

Balanced and accurate reporting has the potential to increase understanding of mental illness. However, stereotypes can lead to negative community attitudes and stigma.

For recommendations on accurate, sensitive and responsible reporting of mental illness, including information on common myths about mental illness, visit the Mindframe website on http://www.mindframe-media.info

Media professionals can also contact the Mindframe team via telephone or email, for free advice.

@Oli. No, I didn’t think you were implying anything with regards Lyon’s behaviour or condition. I think you have done a remarkable job in discussing this extremely fraught subject with all due respect to individuals without shirking some uncomfortable aspects of the situation, and I thank you for it.

Hi Mumbrella, we are an early stage seed startup working on a mission to make mental health mainstream and launched an online social network in Dec 2015 to raise awareness about mental health with a focus on early intervention, eduction & talking about health from a holistic perspective. We are trying to change society’s views towards mental health by interviewing people from all walks of life and chatting to those people about their real life/behind the scenes stories. We would love to be able to assist future generations gain better access and support for mental health services. We completely support the notion that early intervention and education is the best way to combat this global crisis and think teaching kids useful “life skills” is an essential part of survival in this day & age. Please let us know if there would ever be a possibility of collaborating with you? Keep up the great work! Kind Regards, Zoie Carroll

Good article Oli,

great to have a viewpoint from yourself.

It might be an idea to spell Garry Lyon’s name correctly.