Is depression a disease? Is it more prevalent today?

[Japher]

you can get by drinking out of the same water fountain as someone with it

[SlowwHand]

I have an uncle that was treated, on in-patient basis.
If you compare depression to shopping, you're ignorant.
Here's your chance to conquer ignorance.

[Lorizael]

The point is, Sloww, equating words is not the same as equating meanings. That said, I do think depression is a disease. But I also probably don't have the same definition of disease as most people.

[reds4ever]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
I have an uncle that was treated, on in-patient basis.
If you compare depression to shopping, you're ignorant.
Here's your chance to conquer ignorance.

Can't you read? I compared addiction to shopping to depression.

[Monk]

Hi Colon! Finally got myself a computer again. Looking forward to claim my chocolate sometimes soon.

Originally posted by NeOmega
You cannot will away cancer, or emphysema, or diabetes, or any other physical malady.

Which kind of therapy do you propose to accomodate a man who's suffering from delirium tremens, and how on earth could you ever make a convincing case that he's not sick?

Diabetes and depression are not on different sides of the fence, even if therapy is more relevant in case of the ladder. In both conditions your body is incapable of keeping a proper hormonal balance. Whether it's insulin or serotonin you need bears little relevance in this discussion.

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by NeOmega
Depressed people love depressive music, I've noticed, and then they claim the music makes them feel better, because they can relate to it. Just another life observation.

And treating it like a disease reminds me of the professional advice to quit smoking, which includes, "rewarding yourself" or "gradually cutting back" or the patch or gum, when it seems to me, once again from life experience, the only true quitters do it through sheer force of will, cold turkey.

So I would say, depression would fit the addiction model much better, and indeed, I believe many times depression is triggered by a painful event, but instead of moving on, some people feel the need to revisit the event, perhaps it is the stabilizing hormones that are released to once again balance the blood pressure and heartrate that is causing the "high" people are seeking.

I know many people consider alcoholism a disease, and I reject the trend to call addictions disease, I think it does not help the situation, and is just another contributor to our current society of victimization.

All that is important in this post I have highlighted for ease of reading. Anecdotal evidence, life experience, personal beliefs... no proof, no evidence, nothing but his own common sense which, of course, will always verify his own opinions.

He has no theories that account for the fact that there are over six billion humans on Earth, and that they all have their very own life experiences and observations and beliefs that might not mesh with his own.

[reds4ever]

I agree with Neo (for what thats worth!!).

[loinburger]

.

[MRT144]

Originally posted by loinburger
Depressed patient: I am sad
NeOmega: Stop being sad
Formerly depressed patient: Huzzah, I am cured!

loinburger ever the prince of comedy!

I just cant understand how people refuse to recognize certain psychological problems as diseases, or issues. I'm afraid to even mention ADD but as someone who has been diagnosed, and is in treatment for it, for anyone who hasnt experienced it, or doesnt have it, youll never understand. theres just no way i could function in the professional enviroment without my daily script and weekly mentoring sessions.

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by loinburger

[a disease is] something that cannot be cured through therapy.

Anti-depressants are often used to treat depression, therefore by your definition it is a disease.

This is an inaccurate application of logic. That depression is sometimes cured by anti-depressants does not mean that it cannot be cured by therapy.

And he would contend, however wrongly, that all depression can be cured by therapy or some other non pharmaceutical means. If this assertion were true, his definition would be accurate.

As it is, his definition is merely self-serving and empty, but not necessarily wrong.

[Blaupanzer]

MRT144,

Ignorance is its own defense for selected behaviors. Many who ever claimed to be depressed got over it, therefore depression is not a disease. "Tough it out, you lazy bum," is easier to say than any unmanly, sympathetic noise. Like telling the homeless to "Get a job," these actions oversimplify and underestimate what they are seeing.

[SlowwHand]

Depressed? Marriage May Help, Study Says
But it's no substitute for standard depression treatment, experts agree
By Serena Gordon, HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Aug. 14 (HealthDay News) -- With apologies to about 10,000 stand-up comedians, marriage may be the cure for depression, rather than the cause of it.

In fact, researchers say, people who experience depression before they get married are the most likely to get emotional health benefits from marriage.

Using a depression scale whose scores ranged from zero to 84, the researchers found that the scores of depressed people went down by almost 8 points after marriage, while those who weren't depressed had just under a 2-point drop after marriage.

Even the study authors were surprised by their findings. "We thought people who were depressed would be less likely to benefit from marriage than others," said study co-author Kristi Williams, an assistant professor of sociology at Ohio State University in Columbus. "We thought depression would put a strain on the marriage."

Williams and her co-author, Adrianne Frech, a doctoral student at Ohio State, presented the results of their study Aug. 13 at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, in Montreal.

This research comes on the heels of another study that found that people who never marry had a greater chance of dying early than people who were married. In fact, people who'd never married had an even higher risk of early death than people who were divorced, separated or widowed, suggesting that marriage confers some sort of health benefit, even if it doesn't work out.

Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, the Ohio State researchers gathered information on more than 3,000 people who were single at the start of the study in 1987-88. The survey participants were interviewed again sometime between 1992 and 1994.

To assess whether or not people were depressed, they were asked 12 questions, such as how many days in the past week they "felt like they could not shake off the blues, "felt lonely," or "slept restlessly."

About 29 percent were depressed at the start of the study, according to Williams.

During the second part of the study, they gathered information on who had gotten married and reassessed depression.

Williams said at that time, 30 percent of those who remained unmarried were depressed, while only 26 percent of those who got married were depressed.

The researchers found that those who were depressed seemed to gain the most mental health benefits from getting married, with depressed people enjoying nearly a six-point higher reduction in their depression scores after marriage than non-depressed people.

"We actually found the opposite of what we expected. We thought depressed people would be less likely to benefit from marriage because the depression of one spouse can put a strain on the marriage and undermine marital quality," Frech said in a prepared statement.

As to why depressed people may enjoy more benefits from matrimony, Williams theorized, "We think that depressed people may have more to gain from the emotional support and close intimate ties that come with marriage."

That doesn't mean people who aren't depressed won't have happy marriages, Williams quickly added: "If you start out happy, you don't have as far to go."

The findings don't mean that depressed people should substitute marriage for depression treatment either, she said.

"This was just an average association," said Williams. "We're not saying that depressed individuals should run out and get married."

"Clearly, one should not look upon these results as recommending that depressed people should get married," said Dr. Charles Goodstein, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine in New York City. "The likelihood is strong that such a marriage might fall apart."

But, he added, these study results suggest that depressed people stand to gain more from marriage. "At the very least, the depressed person gets the sense that there's someone who cares about them."

However, Goodstein also pointed out that this particular survey may not accurately assess depression.

"Depression is a much more complicated matter than can be diagnosed on a survey. There is such a wide range of what we call depression, and many people can pass through society without being seen as depressed," he said.

Williams agreed that the survey used in this study can't be used to diagnose individual depression, but said it was designed to give an estimate of depression in a community population.

More information

To learn more about depression, visit the National Institute of Mental Health.

[NeOmega]

Originally posted by Lorizael


All that is important in this post I have highlighted for ease of reading. Anecdotal evidence, life experience, personal beliefs... no proof, no evidence, nothing but his own common sense which, of course, will always verify his own opinions.

He has no theories that account for the fact that there are over six billion humans on Earth, and that they all have their very own life experiences and observations and beliefs that might not mesh with his own.

keep living in your depressed stupor and on your happy pills for the rest of your life, see if I care.

[NeOmega]

Originally posted by loinburger

Depressed patient: I am sad
NeOmega: Stop being sad
Formerly depressed patient: Huzzah, I am cured!

try this:

depressed person: I hate my life, I am so depressed.

me: well you can cure it yourself, it's not a disease

depressed person: Who the hell do you think you are? Are you a doctor? I need a doctor to help me! I can't help myself!!!

me: You are the only one who can help.

depressed person: No, I have a disease, I need a doctor, and a pill! Lots of people say it's a disease!

[NeOmega]

Originally posted by Blaupanzer
MRT144,

Ignorance is its own defense for selected behaviors. Many who ever claimed to be depressed got over it, therefore depression is not a disease. "Tough it out, you lazy bum," is easier to say than any unmanly, sympathetic noise. Like telling the homeless to "Get a job," these actions oversimplify and underestimate what they are seeing.

Am I surprised a person who thinks depression is a disease also thinks bums can't just go out and get a job?

Nope.

Bums can just go out and get a job, they do it all the time... that is when they recieve the title of hobo.


But bums like being bums. They like the freedom.