{"id":20360,"date":"2019-03-05T04:16:25","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T04:16:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/?p=20360"},"modified":"2026-07-13T16:53:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T12:53:56","slug":"5-myths-depression-debunked-dubai-psychologist-dr-harry-horgan-feat-goodness-magazine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/5-myths-depression-debunked-dubai-psychologist-dr-harry-horgan-feat-goodness-magazine\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Common Myths About Depression Debunked | GNC Dubai"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt\u2019s all in your head.\u201d\u00a0, \u201cYou\u2019re just sad.\u201d, \u201cCheer up!\u201d, \u201cYou have so much to be grateful for.\u201d\u00a0People suffering from depression hear such comments regularly. Whether from well-intentioned family and friends or from acquaintances, the general consensus is that depression will disappear if the person in question just tries a little harder to appreciate their life, be more optimistic, and perhaps spend more time doing the things they love. [\u2026]<\/em><\/p>\n

But they\u2019re wrong.\u00a0<\/strong>Below are a few myths about depression that we\u2019ve debunked, with the help of professionals. [\u2026]\n

Myth #1: You can think yourself out of depression.<\/h2>\n

Dr. Harry Horgan<\/strong>, Psychologist at the German Neuroscience Center<\/strong> (GNC) in Dubai, agrees; \u201cThe neurobiology of depression is still not well understood. Hence, it can be difficult to identify and challenge or change a negative thinking process.\u201d Bottom line: You can\u2019t think yourself out of depression. [\u2026]\n

Myth #2: Depression is caused by something.<\/h2>\n

While certain traumatic experiences in life can trigger depression, there is no real reason or justification for it. It just is. \u201cIt can happen \u2018out of the blue\u2019, as they say, because some people are biologically vulnerable to depression. It could be genetic, or it could be due to a physical condition like hypothyroidism. [\u2026]\n

Myth #3: Depression is a female problem.<\/h2>\n

This common belief is not only inaccurate, but it\u2019s also a dangerous way of thinking because it dissuades males with depression from coming forward and seeking help. \u201cOf the people that report experiencing depression, approximately 60 percent are women and 40 percent are men. So, while there may be a difference between the sexes, this discrepancy is partly due to the difference in help-seeking behavior, as men are often less likely to seek support for a range of health conditions,\u201d says Dr. Horgan.[\u2026]\n

Myth #4: Being sad is the same as being depressed.<\/h2>\n

Because pervasive sadness is one of the main symptoms of depression, people often can\u2019t tell the difference between the two. \u201cWhile persistent sadness is often part of the experience of depression, it\u2019s not only the case. Depression is not an increase of sadness, but rather a flat-lining of all emotions,\u201d Dr. Horgan says.<\/p>\n

Myth #5: Being grateful makes you less depressed.<\/h2>\n

While studies have proven that practicing gratitude greatly impacts our mental, physical, and psychological wellbeing, telling a depressed individual to be more grateful is, in fact, unhelpful. Firstly, it assumes that people with depression are in control of their feelings \u2013 they are not. Secondly, it increases their feelings of guilt, which ultimately discourages them from seeking help. Thirdly, it perpetuates the stigma of depression and misconstrues the real causes behind it. Simply put, telling a depressed person that they should be more grateful shows a serious lack of understanding about this mental health illness and is dismissive of the struggles someone with depression goes through on a daily basis. [\u2026]\n

The full original article was published in Goodness <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt\u2019s all in your head.\u201d\u00a0, \u201cYou\u2019re just sad.\u201d, \u201cCheer up!\u201d, \u201cYou have so much to be grateful for.\u201d\u00a0People suffering from depression hear such comments regularly. Whether from well-intentioned family and friends or from acquaintances, the general consensus is that depression will disappear if the person in question just tries a little harder to appreciate their<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20361,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20360"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24920,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20360\/revisions\/24920"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}