This week’s news that a co-pilot deliberately crashed a Germanwings flight over France, killing himself and 149 other people in the process, has been met with deserved outrage and horror. Within a few hours, news agencies published reports claiming that the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, had a history of depression and jumping the gun into linking depression with violence and murder. One news agency even went along the headline: ‘Killer pilot suffered from depression’.
So what does this mean for those of us who have strived to abolish this stigma about mental illness?
“There is a missing link somewhere, of which we are not yet aware. There is a very sharp distinction between suicide and this,” psychotherapist Edward Curmi told The Malta Independent on Sunday.
“I have worked in the mental health sector for years now, and I can assure everyone that I feel extremely safe working with patients suffering from mental illness. I know some incredible people holding high positions who have suffered in silence and, despite their struggles, they have always been professional in their job,” said Dr Curmi.
“I have seen some reports in the media arguing that someone who is depressed should not be controlling a flight. But with this reasoning, almost half the population should be fired from their jobs. I must stress, there are different types and levels of mental illness. Unfortunately, most people are unable to comprehend this, unless they work closely with mental illness patients,” he said.
Dr Curmi said that in roles and positions that involve a great deal of responsibility, it is the employer that should have a basic understanding of mental health and a good way of carrying out assessments. Even psychologists and doctors undergo such assessment. “If this person was assessed regularly and thoroughly, then this could have been prevented.”
Along with several others, Dr Curmi is concerned about the stigma that media reports have created. “Just last Friday, I was on board an aeroplane and people who know I’m a psychotherapist were joking about checking the pilot. It is unfair that some reports have made such direct correlation between depression and the co-pilot’s motive. Over the years, the media has created so many misconceptions on the issue. I can understand that people are angry and are looking for answers, but let’s not make the mistake of thinking that anyone with depression is capable of something like this,”” he said.
Dr Curmi said that, unfortunately, there are times when people have a lot of trapped anger in them which they allow to rot, instead of seeking help. “I’m not in any way justifying what happened, but what I have learnt over the years is that there is a reason for everything. But I guess we’ll never know what an individual is thinking in the minutes before committing suicide. Depression does cause uncertainties but this is a different situation entirely.”
Work to abolish stigma about mental illness vanished in thin air
Member of Parliament Mario Galea said that the stigma created by such an incident throws all the work to abolish it out of the window.
A few months ago, Mr Galea opened up about his to this newspaper, explaining how he had struggled with depression during his time as a Parliamentary Secretary. “There is a deafening silence about mental health. When someone is admitted to Mater Dei Hospital, they’re not afraid to talk about it. We even go so far as taking selfies from a hospital bed and uploading them on Facebook! But someone suffering from mental health problems does not often speak up, and it is precisely because of this stigma”, Mr Galea had said during his interview.
Commenting yesterday, the Nationalist MP said it is unfortunate that, as a result of this incident, people will again start associating mental illness with acts of violence. “If we take this opportunity to continue demonising such illness, people will shy further away from seeking help. Why not take the opportunity to raise more awareness about suicide instead? We must note that it is extremely rare for a depressed person who commits suicide to kill others in the act. The vast majority are only interested in taking their own life. It takes much more than depression to take 149 people with you.”
The Nationalist MP pointed out that, according to international studies, professionals in high-stress jobs are more prone to depression, and he said that employers should implement mental health policies.
Online, a number of psychologists and individuals suffering from mental illness said that the fact that Lubitz had hidden his illness from his employers suggests that we need less stigma associated with mental illness, not more.
Today depression affects one in five adults, and every 40 seconds someone in the world commits suicide. In the EU, that figure is one person every nine minutes. Untreated depression is the main cause for people taking their own life.
Conclusions about what pushed Andreas Lubitz to do what he did have not yet been reached and even the authorities have stopped short of calling it suicide. Mere assumptions that his mental condition was the sole reason behind the plane crash, however, would be a mistake that will have long-term effects.