Hey, do you know this about depression?
Question:
http://psychologytoday.com/articles/inde...
I know this is not as easy to read as the simplistic things that many answerers here believe about depression, that depression is normal for teenagers, that depression is all about serotonin, all about negative thinking, all about diet and exercise, all about the will to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps, all a copout on the part of lazy people. No, that's all fantasy, especially if you are talking about depression and not sadness, boredom, loneliness, grief, childishness and whatever else some label as depression when they don't know what depression is, even some physicians.
Is it so hard to see depression as it is seen in this article, as a complex disorder, in part biological, in part psychological, neither one simple, but something that can be helped both by psychotherapy and medications?
Answers:
It's not hard for me to understand. In fact, it's painfully, excruciatingly obvious.
no one can make you feel bad without your consent.
That seems like what psychologists and psychiatrists always say. It's not hard to read...it seems like something most people know.
I don't think that's correct. Almost all the things they've described as contributing to depression are symptoms of depression. Social with-drawl, abnormal eating habits, low energy/exercize levels, ect.
Depression has many levels. I'd rather not let a doctor dope me out of my mind just because I'm unhappy. I've been ill for over a year and the Dr tried to tell me I was depressed. I answered, "Hell yes I'm depressed, fix my problem and I won't be unhappy about being sick anymore!"
However my brother suffers from a condition similar to that described in that article and without his medication he is two completely different people. He really benefited from the medication. I hate to see so many people chose chemical dependency over facing their problems, however some people can benefit from these drugs. I just hope the medical community can learn some restraint.
I think the reason why people have the idea that 'depression' is a state of feeling sad is that the word has been misused for years. It's the same way with what we used to call schizophrenia we now call bipolar. Same disease, different name. Depression is not something you get over by talking to a psychiatrist, it is a physiological not a physiological decease.
I read the article and will be interested in what can be done to help people with real depression. It's starting to dawn on the public that Prozac is not the be all end all. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
I call Prozac (etc.) the "shut up" pill. The doctor prescribes it to make you stop complaining. It is a band-aid not a cure.
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