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Unmasking depression: Challenging structural oppression whilst recognising individual agency

Women living in rural Australia who are labelled as depressed, by either themselves or professionals, contend with spatial injustices of limited service provision that converge with the dominant constructions of mental health and knowledge authorisation. Informed by a feminist social constructionist standpoint, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 women living in rural New South Wales in Australia. This paper explores how rural women navigate experiences labelled as depression. The women’s stories conveyed an overwhelming sense of loss, abuse and betrayal, and the pathologisation of their experiences of structural violence and oppression is of significant concern. Yet, the women also showed agency by using to their best benefit multiple and often divergent explanations for their experiences of depression. While many accepted the diagnosis of their symptoms, most resisted a sole pathological cause and actively created individually meaningful narratives of their depression experiences. The language of ‘depression’ provided a passport for some, allowing access to formal supports that would have otherwise been unavailable or highly stigmatised. Rurality and the associated structural disadvantage, particularly in regard to service provision, was only marginally present in the women’s stories. The alternative narratives of healing uncovered challenge the centrality of formal service delivery to the wellbeing of a community. Further, while the pathologisation of structural oppression must be resisted, the women’s stories demonstrate the importance of not invisibilising the agency they demonstrate in this difficult and contested space.