Germanwings crash: The media and the stigma of depression

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s the investigation surrounding the tragic Germanwings crash continues, many media outlets have tried to simplify the complicated situation by focusing on the mental health of the co-pilot. But drawing links between depression and violence is misleading and dangerous, simply bolstering the incorrect views that many have of a complex psychological disorder.

Although investigators have yet to provide substantial proof of Andreas Lubitz’s depression, tabloid outlets across Europe have been quick to use this as an explanation. Even if Lubitz does turn out to have been suffering from depression, the headlines and content of many stories sensationalise and exaggerate the links, as well as causing more problems for those that have to live with it.

Of course, it’s pretty hard to deny that Lubitz had depression at one point – we don’t know when, but doctor’s records and other information indicates that it was definitely the case at one point. But the problem here isn’t so much that he had depression, but that many outlets are jumping on this fact and using it to explain why the crash happened at all.

By inextricably linking the two, they’re taking all the facts out of context and causing depression to be synonymous with suicidal thoughts in the mind of the public, which will only make it harder for those individuals with mental health problems to find work. Although many twitter users have condemned the headlines, there are undoubtedly those who now believe the truth of the “journalism” that the tabloids have been spouting.

What happened was naturally tragic. But assuming that depression is just the first step on a path that inevitably leads to a gory and public suicide that takes hundreds of people with it is overly simplistic and just plain wrong. We should be focusing on the disastrous loss of life here, rather than trying to point the finger of blame at whoever we see fit. The stigma that tabloids across Europe are desperately trying to create can only detract from a singular and heartrending loss.

Experts and charities have condemned the media’s willingness to link the two – making it clear that the majority of people coping with mental health issues were no more prone to violence than those without. Although the angle that the media has taken could be seen as an attempt to understand that which defies comprehension, the damage that these kind of headlines do is tangible and all too real for the millions of people who have a history of depression.

Instead of tabloid hysteria, we should be starting a worldwide discussion on depression and seeking to understand it better. And we should be leaving Lubitz’s issues – whether they be depression or anything more sinister – on the sidelines until we can ascertain what caused him to take the course he did. At the moment, all the tabloid media is achieving is further stigmatisation of people who are already mocked and misunderstood by the wider public. And that’s not okay.