Andreas Lubitz and Stigmatizing Mental Health Problems
Over the past several days we have heard more and more salacious speculation regarding the mental state of Adreas Lubitz and how this may have been a contributing factor in the recent airline tragedy. Now of course it is quite appropriate for the media to cover this story as fully as possible. It is not, however, appropriate to vilify people who suffer with mental health issues.
Many people suffer with depression in a quite law abiding and dignified way. Whilst, of course, some occupations require more stringent requirements for mental health than others, it is a disgrace that the media seems to be latching on to the possibility of Lubitz’s mental difficulties in the same way that they drool over the notion  of bad things being committed by immigrants and Muslims.
We are a people are better than this, and we should hold our media sources accountable to the ethics and morals of the majority of the population. As a psychotherapist, I see depression every day, and it can be helped and it is certainly not a character weakness.
The mental health charity MIND has launched a campaign to try to hold the media accountable for their coverage of mental health issues. You can find details of this at the following link http://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/minds-media-office/complain-to-the-media/
