writing about depression....

[mango6110]

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for those questions such as u of chicago or wayne state.....when they ask you a difficult or challenging situation that you have encountered and how you dealt with it....do u think it would be ok to write about dealing with depression...?

 

[CaMD]

for those questions such as u of chicago or wayne state.....when they ask you a difficult or challenging situation that you have encountered and how you dealt with it....do u think it would be ok to write about dealing with depression...?

I really wouldn't. I'm sure some people written such things and been successful, but it seems like asking for trouble.

Even if it's under control I would worry that they would worry. Don't give them anything to hold against you. (Not that they should or would, but they might? A lot of things I've read on SDN suggest that even though as MDs they should be enlightened about such things, a lot of times their not.)

 

[Ajay]

for those questions such as u of chicago or wayne state.....when they ask you a difficult or challenging situation that you have encountered and how you dealt with it....do u think it would be ok to write about dealing with depression...?

I think this is a really good question, largely because it pertains to me. I believe that whether or not you mention depression in your personal statement depends largely on the circumstances surrounding the depression.

Here's a question for the rest of you: do you think it's appropriate to make mention of depression when it results from the death of a loved one? Since depression is one of the natural consequences of the passing of a close family member, I feel it should be alright to make light of it. What do you guys think?

 

[LauraMac]

i think talking about depression is totally acceptable. in both my uchicago and wayne state secondaries i talked about seeing a therapist. i didn't say why, and i did mention it was only a few sessions of counseling, so i figured it was okay. i wrote about how helpful it was and how i was able to change things in my life because of it. if you write about how you deal/dealt with depression as long as there is a successful outcome, you should be good to go.

 

[meister]

i think talking about depression is totally acceptable. in both my uchicago and wayne state secondaries i talked about seeing a therapist.

But the question is, did you get an interview/acceptance from these schools?

I think that talking about adversity as a result of the death of a loved one can be a very powerful technique in convincing adcoms that you are serious about persuing medicine. I would be hesitant to mention any chemical imbalances though, particularly if you're on Lithium or antipsychotics or something like that.

 

[leechy]

I think this is a really good question, largely because it pertains to me. I believe that whether or not you mention depression in your personal statement depends largely on the circumstances surrounding the depression.

Here's a question for the rest of you: do you think it's appropriate to make mention of depression when it results from the death of a loved one? Since depression is one of the natural consequences of the passing of a close family member, I feel it should be alright to make light of it. What do you guys think?

Ajay, I definitely think you can safely write about it with no risk of being stigmatized.

In an ideal world, the OP should be able to write about it without needing to worry about backward adcom members holding it against him/her (I'm assuming here that the OP's depression wasn't caused by a specific tragedy)... If I were the OP, I would probably go for it anyway, even if it was slightly risky. Depression is a common enough disease - whatever stigmas people do have about it should (and hopefully ARE) fading.

 

[mango6110]

my depression was medically related, i was sick for three months due to the effects of a side effect of this medication, Lariam....its side effects were severe insomnia, depression, and anxiety...so thats what initally caused it....im ok now and i think my experience taught me a lot about myself so i wanted to talk about it.....its defenitely been the toughest challenge i have faced.

 

[meister]

my depression was medically related, i was sick for three months due to the effects of a side effect of this medication, Lariam....its side effects were severe insomnia, depression, and anxiety...so thats what initally caused it....im ok now and i think my experience taught me a lot about myself so i wanted to talk about it.....its defenitely been the toughest challenge i have faced.

Afraid of catching malaria? Did you visit a foreign country or something?

 

[mango6110]

Afraid of catching malaria? Did you visit a foreign country or something?

i went to india for the summer.....but the medication made me sicker than i would have gotten getting malaria

 

[Medikit]

I talked about hard times, but never really said the depression word. It was pretty frustrating to me since I learned so many things from my depression and I'm a better person because of it. People have written about their depression in the past and gotten into medischool. But I haven't written about it yet.

 

[doc05]

depression is a disease - it's not your fault. nonetheless, it is a weakness and discussing it will hurt 9/10 applicants.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I think this is a really good question, largely because it pertains to me. I believe that whether or not you mention depression in your personal statement depends largely on the circumstances surrounding the depression.

Here's a question for the rest of you: do you think it's appropriate to make mention of depression when it results from the death of a loved one? Since depression is one of the natural consequences of the passing of a close family member, I feel it should be alright to make light of it. What do you guys think?

i would think that's fine; a slong a syou cna show tha tyou overcame that adversity or at least learned to deal with it. I also wouldn't mention needing drugs, etc.

And to th OP, I thinkit's better to mention depresson as a reusult of an event that occured, like a death rather than clinical depression which could raise a flag that this could be a chronic problem

 

[Psycho Doctor]

depression is a disease - it's not your fault. nonetheless, it is a weakness and discussing it will hurt 9/10 applicants.

but if you showed you overcame it, learned from it and it inspired you to pursue medicine...is it really so bad to write about it? especially for a question that asks you about adversity that you overcame?

 

[jintonic5]

as long as you have to goods to back up your claim to competency as a medical school student, i think depression is a perfectly legitimate thing to discuss- especially if you can clearly explain anything positive that may have resulted from this experience.

i'd like to think that in this day and age adcoms do not view depression with similar stigmas as held by the generally uneducated public- as another poster previously noted, it's a treatable and curable disease. also i spoke with a resident friend of mine who said that if it weren't for antidepressants, there wouldn't be any doctors out there stable enough to treat patients 😛

 

[Psycho Doctor]

also i spoke with a resident friend of mine who said that if it weren't for antidepressants, there wouldn't be any doctors out there stable enough to treat patients 😛

that's probably very accurate

 

[hy2026]

I think that depression is so common nowadays, that when you talk about depression, many people just roll their eyes and say "so".

However, for an average person, it is difficult to have a "real" difficult situation, other than having a depression, being sick,....etc

 

[tedrik]

At first I wanted to suggest that you shy away from talking about depression, but I think that it is going to depend on how you tell your story. I would try to incorporate things about how you want to destigmatize psychological dissorders so they are viewed as treatable diseases. That's definitely something that would get most adcom doctors on your side.

whatever you decide, good luck!

 

[synapses5317]

I have a friend who got into UCSF who talked about having bipolar disorder in her personal statement for three reasons. One, it was the only way to discuss the inconsistencies in her application (withdrawals, poor grades, etc.). Second, she did not want to go to a school where she could not be open about her illness. And third, having bipolar really explained her reasons for becoming a doctor in the first place. So she was interviewed at I think ten schools, and got into two, including UCSF. At all of the schools the bipolar disorder came up, and only at UCSF was it discussed appropriately. Of course, the reason why she was rejected from the other schools could also be because she was pregnant with her second child and was an older student. It is not for certain. But the point of the matter is that others have successfully talked about their mental illness and still made it in. It's all about how you frame it, I would think.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Of course, the reason why she was rejected from the other schools could also be because she was pregnant with her second child and was an older student. It is not for certain.

Isn't that illegal? I know it is for not hiring a person...but then again they don't have to say that is the reason for her rejection.

 

[Vietnam Kerry]

Write about it if you wish. Write about both sides of the issue.

 

[Ajay]

Thanks guys; I really appreciate all your input.

I'd like to apologize to the OP for partially highjacking the thread. Sorry. 😳