[OOC] A handy guide to depression (and mania)

[prancysmurf]

As you may or (more probably) may not know, when I’m not being Kurt’s mun, I am a psychologist who spends my days working on a clinical trial comparing treatments for adolescent depression. The vast majority of my working week is spent with kids suffering from depression and other mental health problems.

In light of Ryan Murphy’s tweet the other day

Comments

[prancysmurf]

Sorry for the delay in replying to this!

Yeah, I doubt very much that RIB had this in mind at the beginning. It's taken a fan going "hey, is Blaine depressed?" for RM to go "oh, now you mention it, maybe, yeah!". Not the most convincing of responses. But it still fits, no matter how they came up with it, as you said. And from what I see at work, it's very common for at least one parent to not "believe" in mental illness/try to sweep it under the rug. Which does tend to just exacerbate the problem, poor Blaine.

I think... it would depend how entrenched he is. And the cause. If his illness atm is purely due to problems with Kurt, then having a stable future with him probably would solve issues (though maybe there'd be a voice in the back of his head wondering when Kurt's going to leave/when it's all going to go wrong again). If it's more due to his upbringing/what his parents have raised him to believe - then I'd think it more likely it would need some sort of intervention. Unless he can move out and put his entire history behind him, then that would have lingering effects.

[blainewanderson]

I think... I think he has issues stemming from fear of rejection and abandonment and a rather crushing fear of loneliness, so it's probably partly from his family's indifference to his pain, partly from being separated from Kurt that it's more evident now than when they are together and happy. I like to think it becomes less up and down as he gets older, and he can find an even keel to settle into once they are married and start a family. Though I'm sure triggers like the first time Christopher gets hurt, or Kurt is late coming home without notice could start a burgeoning panic attack that could turn into an episode.

[prancysmurf]

Poor Blaine :( I'm sure there will be triggers for him, throughout his life, but hopefully the more times that happens and he has Kurt - and later on his children - to cuddle him and love him, the easier things will get for him. Kurt would never abandon him, or treat him like the Andersons did. Hopefully he'll learn to believe that, in time.

[blainewanderson]

I think being a Hummel, and them being Anderson-Hummels, a whole brand new family will do wonders for Blaine's feelings of self worth, I think just not being in an environment where you are made to feel 'less than' all the time should be positive for mental health, or at least getting in the direction of better. Even if it ultimately is a chemical imbalance as much as emotional connections. Though those are the opinions of a lay person.

[prancysmurf]

I'd imagine that Blaine would still have occasional periods where the depression comes back, but they'd be far shorter and far less severe. It would be so much easier for him to fight when he's surrounded by people who love him and make him happy, as opposed to his family who just push him even further down.

[blainewanderson]

I agree. And if there are times when Blaine is unmanageable, he would take some time away from the family for a bit, a teaching conference or something, he would be loathe to expose his children to something that would put confusion or fear on their faces. Or of course in the world that they have now, he could go to his sister.

[prancysmurf]

Oh, Kurt would be so torn :( He'd not want the kids to see that side of their Daddy either, but he'd also want to be there to help Blaine through. Just as I'm sure Blaine would want to be there in the future when Kurt has days where his weight obsessions come back (not that Kurt would ever let the kids see their Papa having a calorie panic).