Sadness is normal

I've just read this BBC news article about regaining the variety of terms we can use for sadness, rather than overusing "depressed" for all of them. I do think we lose something by using umbrella terms - and that people are more able to understand and empathise if we are specific: grieving, bereft, discouraged, diminished, empty...

But sadly I can't agree with the underlying premise that depression no longer carries a stigma. One person commentating on the article says:

It annoys me when people think the stigma is being broken. You try dropping it into normal conversation and see the room act like you have just dropped a massive fart.

This is my experience as well: either an embarrassed silence, a few muttered platitudes, or someone who has also suffered from depression wanting to confide in you their every experience. Friends and colleagues - once they know and understand - have been fantastic. But I still fear "coming out" as a depressive to anyone new. The stigma is alive and well.