Erykah Hawkins
Health 1100
Current Article 1
30 April 2020
What’s to Understand About Depression
The article I chose to examine is entitled, “Hilarious World of Depression’ Podcaster John
Moe on What’s Most Important to Understand About Depression” and is written by Meredith
Wolf Schizer. I feel this article is important to discuss because depression is affects 17.3 million
adults in Americans, which is about 7% of the adult population, in a given year. Due to this
number of being so large, John Moe felt it was important to discuss his own experience. Moe is
interviewed, about his new book, “The Hilarious World of Depression”, where he relates that he
lost his own brother to depression and suicide. Moe further relates that how depression is
different than being sad, and his coping mechanisms, which include comedy and jokes, that help
him deal with the world that depression has altered around him. He also makes use of podcasts to
keep him busy.
The target audience of this article are those who have been affected by depression in the real
world and those who may be living or taking care of someone who is experiencing depression. It
also is intended to educate the general public on how real depression is and how humor and
comedy can be used as an affective coping mechanism. I think it is important to talk about
depression because it kills thousands of Americans yearly. Talking about the effects can change
the stigma on asking for help. John Moe mentioned that his brother suffered in a lifetime of
silence, and that he is talking about his experience because society is generally unwilling to, and
therefore “empowering the homicidal illness”. This article, which is inspired by his book about
depression, serves as a testimonial to get depression talked about in society and further shows the
importance for depression support advocacy.
In conclusion, I think that this article was extremely useful and important on the topic of
depression and provides a sturdy testimonial on why depression support is needed in society.
Providing real life examples to show how depression affects not only those experiencing it but
those who are second-handedly being affected by this disease, can inspire medical professionals,
regular Americans, and all others to discuss better ways to aid those suffering and might be
contemplating dangerous activities. Overall, this article was extremely encouraging and I in turn
encourage all Americans to read it and John Moe’s book, “The Hilarious World of Depression.”