Letter: Depression is not a 'flaw in my character'

As both a doctor and a sufferer of a severe depressive illness, it maddened me to read that my illness is "an inherent flaw in [my] character", and how "comforting" it would be to attribute it to "something you've caught" instead ("The Germ Bug", Review, 8 June). Perhaps Hilary Bower also recommends joining the Army to rebuild my flawed character, or should I just pull myself together? Such attitudes to mental illness are prejudiced, ignorant and very upsetting.

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