Depression, early intervention and Germanwings

Mental illness—severe depression, in particular—is again in the news with the revelation that the Germanwings co-pilot who killed 149 innocent passengers and crew, and himself, had a history of major depressive episodes. The Internet is consumed with debates about pilot screening, doctor-patient confidentiality, and the very ability of people with psychiatric disorders to perform their jobs. What we aren’t discussing is how this tragedy, and the conversation around it, can do a real disservice to our young people.

Did Andreas Lubitz commit suicide? Yes. But first and foremost, he did terrible, incomprehensible harm to many others. The vast majority of people with a mental illness are not violent. And when they do harm, it is likely that they do it to themselves and themselves alone. Luckily, we have effective treatments that can help people who struggle with depression and thoughts of suicide—but only if they feel comfortable accessing care.

{mosads}This is the danger of focusing too much on the inexplicable actions of Lubitz, and ascribing them to his still-unclear history of mental illness. We do not want our adolescents to think that they are potential monsters for having thoughts and feelings that trouble them. We want them to know that these problems are common and treatable—and that they will not be shunned or shamed for asking for help.

I do not know if anything could have stopped this tragedy. The answer to that question is lost with Lubitz. But I do know that almost 5,000 young people in the United States take their own lives each year, and we most definitely can do something about that if we stop living in fear of and denying the reality of mental illnesses like depression. That goes for us and for our children who struggle with these diseases.

We need to become better informed about the diseases of the brain, and mental health screenings should be a routine part of visits to the doctor, especially for children. 15 million children and adolescents in the U.S. suffer from a psychiatric or learning disorder, and the most common outcomes without intervention hurt them: higher risk for academic failure, alcohol and substance abuse, entering the juvenile justice system—and yes, even suicide. Fewer than half of these kids get help, and their illnesses progress into adulthood. This must change.

Early identification and intervention are key. We as a society must encourage struggling kids – and their parents – to seek help before these problems become more difficult to treat. If I draw one small lesson from what we know of Lubitz, it is that fear, shame, and silence played a role in his terrible act. But these barriers to care are also present in the lives of every child and family that must contend with a psychiatric disorder, and that does not need to be the case.

Andreas Lubitz is not the face of mental illness, and we must let our children know that. The faces of mental illness are the 1 in 5 young people who are trying to succeed and grow with challenges the rest of us don’t face and can’t see. It’s time we treated mental health with the same sense of urgency with which we treat other diseases like diabetes and cancer. Let’s start by informing ourselves and others about the ubiquity of mental disorders, reducing the stigma of seeking treatment or support, and incorporating mental health screenings into routine visits to the pediatrician. We can’t save those people on the Germanwings flight. But we can save children and adolescents now, and in the future.

Koplewicz is a leading child and adolescent psychiatrist and the president of the Child Mind Institute, whose website, childmind.org, offers information on childhood psychiatric and learning disorders.