Is depression a disease? Is it more prevalent today?

[Serb]

Originally posted by MRT144


russians are unhappy because they are on the same list as armenia and romania.

What list?
Average Russian lives much better than Romanian, Armenian.
Russians are unhappy 'cause they love justice, but currently they live in a very unjust society. Russia holds a second place in the world list of billioneres (after US of A, of course). That fact drives people mad, cause they know those billioneres made their fortune within a few years by pillaging of what Soviet people made within a few generations.

[MRT144]

the list of unhappy nations.

you should stay out of conversations where much of it is based on a grasp of the english language.

[Sava]

Depression is an illness not a disease. BTW, this is a fact, not a matter of opinion. So this poll is really irrelevant.

In most cases, there are biological causes to depression. And in a lot of other cases without biological causes, people who go through depression experience changes in their brain activity (which has been measured and proven using imaging scans) where those negative thought patterns will actually change the way a brain functions so that a previously "healthy" person now has those biological "causes".

Even though it's a question of semantics. The answer is "Yes".

Depression is an illness.

I'm not going to comment about whether it is more prevelant today. There is no way of knowing. We know much more about the brain today, so obviously we can diagnose and treat people with depression.

[Terra Nullius]

Originally posted by Colon™
You should have kept quiet, LOTM was breaking posts-in-a-row records here.

Oh Sure!!

LoTM gets a "shhhh,.. he's talking."

And all I get is a "SHUT THE **** UP!!!1!"

What's he got that I don't? Huh? Huh?!!

I mean apart from an intelligent opinion, civil demeanour and a fanatical devotion to the Pope?

[Terra Nullius]

Originally posted by Serb

.

Ahhhh, finally!!!

After 250 posts, at last there's some logical reason to be following this thread.

[Terra Nullius]

Originally posted by NeOmega
When I say it is not a disease, they get offended.

Hint: When discussing a sometimes-fatal condition, qualify your more controversial opinions with the caveat "I believe that ..." or "I think that ... "

You're entitled to your own opinion. but when you state it as fact, don't be surprised if people get shirty.

Because I object to the way the disease is diagnosed and classified. It has much more the hallmarks of an addiction, than a disease.

OK.

Care to expand on that? What do you consider to be the similarities between depression and addiction? What advantages do you see treating it as such?

No, you cannot cure the flu or cancer through willpower.

Au contraire

I already posted a link to someone who cured her own cancer and that of others through something very like willpower.

Lastly. You say you got yourself out of depression. From what I've read so far it sounds like you were suffering quite a mild case. Comments?

Edit:

A caveman did not shut down, and get taken care of by his peers for a couple of years. How ridiculous. They would have called it "lazy", and nobody would have stood for it.

Neanderthal skeletons show evidence of individuals who suffered debilitating fractures. These fractures show signs of calcification (sp?) indicating that they were cared for over some time by their community.

So neanderthals certainly did care for their sick/ injured.

Don't know what they did about depression. But I thought some reference to the facts might be a breath of fresh air in here.

[Darius871]

Originally posted by Terra Nullius

Ahhhh, finally!!!

After 250 posts, at last there's some logical reason to be following this thread.

Dude I so called that!

Originally posted by Darius871

Cue Serb...

I swear to god he only comes every week or so to punch "Russia" into the search engine.

[Elok]

Originally posted by Sava
Depression is an illness not a disease. BTW, this is a fact, not a matter of opinion. So this poll is really irrelevant.

In most cases, there are biological causes to depression. And in a lot of other cases without biological causes, people who go through depression experience changes in their brain activity (which has been measured and proven using imaging scans) where those negative thought patterns will actually change the way a brain functions so that a previously "healthy" person now has those biological "causes".

Even though it's a question of semantics. The answer is "Yes".

Depression is an illness.

I'm not going to comment about whether it is more prevelant today. There is no way of knowing. We know much more about the brain today, so obviously we can diagnose and treat people with depression.

Nice try, whoever you are. This post was sober, thoughtful and didn't blame Republicans or organized religion once. What have you done with the real Sava, you monster?

[Terra Nullius]

Originally posted by Darius871
Dude I so called that!

[Meticulous Man]

Could it be that the heart of the problem lies here? Imagine two sets of attitudes:

A: I am depressed because I have a chemical imbalance in my brain which makes that it doesn't think the right thoughts, and I have zero control over what is happening within my mind or in my environment. Because of the abnormal structure of my brain, I am unable to achieve the status that is desirable of a person in my society and I am thus inferior.

B: I feel emotional pain which stems from my lacking understanding of myself and other people. By changing my world-view, by disposing of some of my previously held views and by adopting new ones that are more in accordance with reality, I can develop as a person and conquer emotional pain. I might not be the most intelligent or powerful person to walk the earth, but I'm aware that there exists no objective way of measuring the worth of anyone's life, and nobody can claim the right to put prices on people's lives.

Wouldn't you think that a depressive person is more likely to display attitude A and a healthy person, B? IMO, the problem is how to combat ways of thinking resembling A both on individual and social level. What do you think?

[Lorizael]

I seriously doubt that most healthy individuals display attitude B, but I'll certainly agree that such an attitude would help a depressive person greatly.

The difficulty is in figuring out how to change one's own attitude. I could say those words, for example; I could say them over and over again but it wouldn't mean my attitude had actually changed.

Humans have a wide range of tools at their disposal for being able to do this, but most people might not necessarily know how to use these tools. Discovering these tools, whether it be by yourself, with your friends or family, or with the aid of society in general, is something people should focus on.

(And yes, I do believe that antidepressants can be one of the tools to make your attitude that healthy B one)

[MRT144]

Originally posted by NeOmega


but I want to see a physical test, or physical symptoms, to prove the disease. Even with 60% accuracy, (most tests and scans for real physical illnesses are much, much more accurate)

depression is a real mental illness. different ballgame son.

[lord of the mark]

The real problem is thinking like this:

A. I am screwed up cause Im stupid, lazy, and dislikeable, and I have zero control over what is happening within my mind or in my environment or my brain. I am unable to achieve the status that is desirable of a person in my society and I am thus inferior. Nothing, not changing my life, not taking a med,not talk therapy, NOTHING will work. Ergo I will either kill myself, lie in bed all day, or just go through the motions of life.

Which needs to be replaced by

I suffer from depression a treatable mental illness. The chemical imbalances associated with it, the negative ways of thinking and feeling, and the bad things that happen to me are a vicious circle, and it doesnt really matter which came first, what matters is getting out of the cycle. I will deal with the depression by changing my world-view, by disposing of some of my previously held views and by adopting new ones that are more in accordance with reality. I will do this with the help of both an experienced good therapist, who will help me develop better habits of thought, and with the help of medication, which will help give me the strength to achieve this.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by phoenixcager

From what I've read of Glasser, he equates mental health with happiness. He does assert that all traditional psychological/psychiatric disorders are not real illnesses except for the ones that have an organic basis. His stand is that changes in brain chemistry are not proof of a biological basis for an illness in the medical sense.


I happen to know of many who would only use meds. But then again I don't live where you do.

I dont know glasser. Ive read Peter Whybrow - to him mental health is NOT happiness - mental health, from the standpoint of mood, is the ability to react emotionally in a proportionate and flexible way to life events. When something bad happens, you feel bad. When something good happens, you feel happy. When something very bad happens, you feel very bad.

Whats NOT healthy is A. Feeling very bad all the time, without respect to whats going = thats unipolar depression. B. Feeling very bad out of proportion to what happened, and in ways that undermine dealing with it - ditto. C. Feeling good then bad then good then bad in a rigid cycle thats independent of life events. Thats bipolar.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Aivo½so
. By changing my world-view, by disposing of some of my previously held views and by adopting new ones that are more in accordance with reality,

ISTR at least one study that said depressives are in fact BETTER at predicting future events than "normal"people. Health is, in some ways, an unrealistic optimism - however its an optimism that actually leads to better life outcomes anyway, since depressives overreact to their "realistic" forecasts.