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[mfaer]

^I agree w/ bacardi--there's a difference between "being depressed" and suffering from a clinical or chronic disorder (e.g, clinical depression, bipolar, etc).  I'm a PhD student w/ bipolar--it's something that I have to manage for the rest of my life; it's chronic.  There is no cure.  I am careful about when and how I disclose, considering the unfortunate stigma that exists for more severe disorders (society in general is more accepting of "depression" than bipolar and schizophrenia, though tolerance and understanding of the latter two is increasing). 

Anyway, first, before you disclose anything, you need to see a psychiatrist; you should be able to get a referral through your campus's student health center. 

Best of luck.

[amiens]

Amiens - which gender has an advantage, in your view?

In my grad dept., the advantage went to men.  I have no idea if that holds out in general though; I'm still just angry about grad school in general.  ;)

I agree with what you said and with what mfaer said about clinical/chronic issues.

[mfaer]

Amiens - which gender has an advantage, in your view?

In my grad dept., the advantage went to men.  I have no idea if that holds out in general though; I'm still just angry about grad school in general.  ;)

I agree with what you said and with what mfaer said about clinical/chronic issues.

I think there are a lot of misogynistic associations between mental illness and femininity, dating back to Freud.

In fact, overall, (and not to get too far off topic here), I think there are many fascinating intersections between mental illness and gender.

[promovenda]

Everyone, I am appreciating this discussion, as some of my best friends in academia struggle or have family who struggle with anxiety, depression or bipolar disorder. I have some anxiety at times, including hyperventilating, but I think it must be true that many academics have or do suffer from some similar things and if it's mild enough don't talk about it. Tchan, I especially appreciated your insights.