February 10, 2012
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Depression and Mental Illness
Help me out with a discussion I am having with a friend. The discussion really revolves around whether there is something defective about people with depression and whether they should be discouraged or encouraged to know there is something wrong with them.
Is depression a mental illness?
Comments (101)
yes it is. politics would say no to save resources on meds and doctors
it depends. everyone has felt depressed at one point or another. chronic depression is a mental illness, yes. being depressed about for a few days is not.
I would say NO.
*woohoo!* I get to be the nerd who says, “FIRST!”
Anyway, it can be a chemical imbalance in the brain.
It can be caused by situations that are either immensely stressful or have broken the person down over a long period of time.
I just don’t see it as a mental illness.
http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/what-is-depression-if-not-a-mental-illness/all/1/
That link says it’s a mental disorder. Which means it’s out of the ordinary. It isn’t a disease because there doesn’t mean there is something wrong with your brain necessarily.
So I guess the answer technically could be yes. Since an illness can be cured & depression can also be curable. Still, I don’t like to label it that way. It sounds too harsh & negative.
yes, it can be.
Encouraged. Someone could end up dead if they are depressed and thrown in a difficult place. There’s such a stigma that people don’t even want to admit it to themselves. But people who are clinically depressed feel completely different on and off meds. There’s a stigma against antidepressants too, but if it keeps someone alive, or from harming themselves, I’d say they need to take them. That also goes for different sources of help, like counseling, therapy, or groups.
Major depression or bipolar are serious mental illnesses that have killed many people because of not being properly diagnosed.
They are mental illness because a persons thinking is altered and not for the good either. Often the only things that help are cognitive therapy, medication, and psychotherapy, to get a person back onto a healthy pathway. I am saying this as a person who suffers from debilitating major depression as well.
I think it depends… there is depression as a symptom of grief, stress, etc., and there’s also depression as a syndrome. I would say that bouts of depression are normal (I thought that I heard that most people suffer from at least one major depressive episode in their lifetimes), but it’s when it’s excessive and debilitating that it starts to be a problem.
No one likes to feel depressed, so if labeling the problem enables a person to get the help that they need, then I say do it. I wouldn’t necessarily SAY that there’s something wrong with them TO them, though.
normal depression is the natural consequence of being stupid. you do something idiotic, and get depressed about it, this passes. chronic depression is either an indicator that you are constantly making stupid decisions or you are defective. if it were the former then i would say it’s ok because you can always stop making stupid decisions, if it’s the latter then it sucks to be you because you are just screwed up and there is nothing anyone can do for you, plus no one likes to be around you because you are a downer.
So, I’d like you to see what happens after you tell a chronically depressed person that there’s nothing wrong with them and tell me how that works out for you….and them.
I dunno. Maybe it depends on the kind of depression.
Yes and No.
yes, it is.
Yes.
@iones_island - No, you get sad about it if you do something stupid. Depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain which is caused by something more than just doing something that is stupid.
yes it is.
@MyTwoCentss - Agreed.
It depends on the semantics, I think. Depression as a state of unhappiness that is bearable and transient is common and happens to most people at some point in their lives. I think those who survive major depression can come out of it with more compassion and insight, anyway.
@DrummingMediocrity - “those who survive major depression can come out of it with more compassion and insight“
I would completely agree with this. I think having people that care that you can interact with when you need to is very important. Long distance support or family support is always nice, but having others who are there locally & aren’t family (thus seemingly “obligated” to like you or care) can really help. That’s just my opinion and I know it’s different for everyone.
Depression can be caused by a lot of things – chemical imbalance, stress, etc. – and in some cases it can probably be considered a mental disorder. But someone who’s depressed isn’t “defective.” They should be encouraged to seek some kind of help on some level if it becomes an issue, but depression can happen to anyone. It just happens worse to some than others.
@iones_island - Ignorant much?
Depression is a mental illness, but having a mental illness does not imply that a person is “defective.”
@iones_island - I’m really glad that i outgrew my “must correct all ignorance” phase a few years ago, or else I would currently be wasting a hell of a lot of time telling you what an ignorant ass you are.
@iones_island - You should be a therapist with all that great insight.
It really depends on the type of depression you have. Most major forms of depression are in the manual for psychological and mental disorder a.k.a DSM-IV. Major depression and those types like, interfere not only with social and emotional but has a direct imact on cognitive thinking and thought processes.
But does that mean they people who suffer from depression are “defective” ABSOLUTELY NOT.
My guess is no, in a sense at least. Sometimes it’s probably caused by a controllable imbalance. I mean.. if you’re eating a poor diet, which most of the grocery store encourages, are always driving, riding trains, never exercising, and are overdosing on stress and caffeine everyday, then naturally yes!
It can be difficult to fix too! They say that fat is evil, so now everyone fills themselves with sugar and carbs. Pretzels anyone? No fat here and no nutrition either! I have rice too! Refined and nutritionally deplete treats for all who come!
Throw your computer out the window and let’s go! Picks up controller and starts playing video games
Hells yeah it is
anyone who says it is not real is lucky
Depression can be a physical disease as much as a mental one. Having a mental illness does not make you defective.
No. By rights, depression isn’t a mental illness but it can be a stepping stone to something worse.
Depression is “the blues” .. a temporary state of being for a little while. Mental illness is something darker and deeper which requires meds and/or appointments with a professional.
It’s a good good and timely question.
depends…
it depends. i think everyone have some kind of depression…but clinical depression is mental illness.
She should just feed her depression with hot dogs.
I think only a fool would pontificate on that issue without having some psychological or medical training.
It certainly is a mental thing. But I’m not sure illness is the right word. When you are depressed it is very, very hard to pull yourself out of pit you’re in. depression tends to just bring more depression. Pills that alter the chemistry in the brain would work because are emotions are some sort of chemical reachtion in the brain. (not to make like of emotions, just describe them)
However, pills alone wont work. To me, the pills are useful because it makes it easier to fight back and regain control. Some people won’t need them, others might only need support from friends.
To me, an illness is something from outside your body that negitively affects you. Virus, parasite, ect. According to that, depression wouldn’t be a true illness.
I heard somewhere that depression is anger turned inwards. Other than saying that I think I’ll leave it to a medical professional to chime in on this subject.
Of course it is. I suffer from Bipolar. Depression is part of the Bipolar. You should encourage them and tell them that something may be wrong. Sometimes depression does not come all at once. It needs to be pointed out in some cases.
depression is a reaction to stimuli just like happiness
mental illnesses stereotype individual problems that get buried under objective reasoning which is blind to seeing the beliefs causing ppl to react negatively, feel me?
I think there are a lot of factors behind depression and not all cases are created equal. But I certainly think it’s a mental issue if someone is sad all of the time and wants to kill themselves. Although I think a lot of mood disorders are misdiagnosed/over diagnosed. Depression would be a horrible thing to deal with though and my heart goes out to those that deal with it.
I’m going to take a stab at this one.
My understanding of “depression” is that it’s more than just feeling “sad”.
Sad is temporary, and is usually for a reason…in my case, Chronic pain.
When the pain is under control, I’m fine.
When it is monster sized, and controlling my life, I get sad, yes.
I do believe the word “depression” gets over used. It is not synonymous with “sadness”.
That causes all sorts of confusion, IMO.
I’ve had doctors try to put me on anti-depressants…because I was in physical pain, which I think is wildly stupid.
“Well, you’re upset about the pain.”
Yes…AND?
I think that depression does exist. I know some people suffer terribly from it. But I also believe that we are teaching people to not deal with it, by offering meds at every turn. Some stuff you just have to go through—like grief, or loss. They are awful…but they help us too. Numbing out the spectrum when you don’t actually have “depression” leaves us unequipped to deal with life.
But I’ve seen people, particularly those who suffer from PTSD , and one of their issues is depression that simply can’t be dismissed.
A hard call…but that’s my two cents.
It is. But there’s specific diagnostic criteria, and to meet that criteria/get a diagnosis I think you’d have to see a doctor, since it’s an illness. At the point that you’re willing to see a doctor about it, you probably already recognized a problem and don’t need to be told you have one. But to meet the diagnostic criteria…I understand what I think you’re getting at. “Depression” is a label thrown around a lot and overused, imo. I read an article the other day about a species of fresh water catfish I like to fish for in the summer that they found significant amounts of anti-depression drug metabolites in. Basically means so many people are taking drugs that the leftover compounds after they’ve been used in the body make it back into the surrounding environment. Still safe to eat the fish, just really says a lot about the collateral damage of something as tiny as a pill.
Yes. Sometimes you just can’t “get happy”. I experienced this for years. I had everything going for me, and I was on the path to success, but I just wanted to die. There’s also something called dysthymia that a lot of people overlook. But all in all, yeah, it exists. Medication doesn’t always work, and therapy doesn’t always work.
1.) there’s this saying “you cannot help ppl ou can only love them”. I think there’s a lot of truth to it. People want to “fix” others, but their usually patronazing mean ways usually don’t work. If you care about the person ask them if they get along well in life or if they might need help & maybe figure it out together. Be prepared to fail and for loong long talks.
2.) if you don’t care and basically have difficulty to take them seriously at all (chances are this is the case if you ask people on xanga and use the word defective) that is alright too, we cannot care about everyone on the plantet. Move on and mind your own business.
Mental ilness in the sense that it happens in the head. For example a depressed state after drinking too much alcohol which is caused by the depletion of certain minerals. Or a women who went through hysterectomy would lose her enthusiasm for living due to a lack of certain hormones. My guess is that it is difficult to treat because often it is cause by a physical invasion which causes a mental depression.
I don’t feel depressed. I FEEL ANGER!!!!!!
@tru_indo - Let me get a hug homie.
Something external can trigger a major depressive episode, but some people have a brain chemistry that is more prone to depression, and major depression is definitely a mental illness. One of the symptoms of depression is noticeably slower speech/movement… This is not just because the person feels icky, but because there are certain chemicals in the brain that are causing that slower speech/movement (the same ones making the person feel sluggish). So yes, it is a mental illness, but it is one that can be more easily fixed than others IF the person suffering from it realizes that they aren’t just being pathetic/weak/whatever other words people who are depressed may use to describe how they’re feeling.
Depression, like anxiety and panic attacks, are not a sign of weakness or that somethings wrong with you. They are a sign of having tried to remain strong for far too long.
@RulerofMasons - u need pussy bro. go outside
There are several different degrees of depression, most of the are NOT a mental illness.
Is a cold an illness? There’s a huge difference between a common cold and pneumonia-
But yes depression, severe or long term is a mental illness.
They need to know there is help, medication and therapy available to them, to learn to control depression and make it better.
it’s something that happens in the wild of society.
Certain people get pushed down until there’s nothing left.
The brain’s chemicals thus react, and you get an imbalance of chemicals, so it’s organic as well as a feeling.
It can be yes and no. It can be a mental disorder if you let it be.
Absolutely. Clinical depression has been demonstrated to be genetic, more interestingly, medications have been developed which can remove the symptoms and keep the illness in check, which proves it with differential diagnosis.
It should be differentiated from a passing state of sadness, which a lot of people wrongly label as depression. The criteria for depression are written out in the psychiatrists manuel.
But why use the pernicious sounding term “defective” do describe a person with depression.
In a few years when you need viagra to have sex, will you be a defective human? If someday you need a pacemaker or heart medication,.diabetes medication, chemotherapy, prostate medication, and so on and so forth, will you consider yourself a defective human being?
No. Depression is something that happens when someone is going through major change. It is the body’s way of saying: “Heh, slow down, let’s re-group before we have to do this drastic change.”
If there were no depression, there would be no major art, ballet, dance, music, writing, sculpture….all those things that “feed the soul”.
It is “normal” and a “part of life”. If there were not changes in life: there would be few depessions/sadness times…..
Some people need meds, some people need sunshine, some people need exercise….why say that “medication” is bad????? really?
Joy
@under_the_carpet - I agree. What you said is my life philosophy.
@locomotiv - Agreed. Depression is usually not organically created. Usually at least stimulated by the environment, and so the person who experiences it should not be seen as a means to an end of his misery by himself.
@She_Lion - @Joyw19 - Clinical depression is caused by neurological issues and is considered a mental illness. There’s also the kind of depression you mention, which is in fact temporary. People with CD suffer from depression regardless of the circumstances and require therapy and/or medication to temper the condition.
I would say yes it is – a chemical imbalance in the brain which can be triggered by many factors in our day to day life, some people more perceptible to it than others. People who suffer from depression should be encouraged to realise that something is wrong so that they have the opportunity to overcome it and go back to the life they had before. If they are discouraged to know that there is something wrong with them then their practitioner obviously doesn’t have their best interests at heart..
Like most have said, Depression can be either organic or a mental illness. 1 in 3 people will suffer some form of mental illness at some point in their lives.
If it is long lasting and not related to a specific stimulus and affects one’s life, then yes it is often a mental illness and a sign of an additional mental illness. Depression is often the body’s way of coping with severe anxiety disorder and other neurotransmitter related conditions.
@tru_indo - Nah, my dude, I need some dick. You single?
Dan, we’ve been over this. yes it is!
not everyone who claims they’re “depressed” actually are, but depression is actually a mental illness.
Depression is a mental illness and 1 in 5 people have a diagnosed mental illness, though probably more people have un-diagnosed illnesses. Depression types vary and some people with clinical depression aren’t always sad 24/7 while others can barely get out of bed, both cases and everything in-between is a mental illness. Getting a psych consult wouldn’t hurt your friend. It is estimated that 2/3 people will have depression at some point in their lives. It is treatable, even curable. Mental illness is not something anyone should be ashamed of, you should be proud to be fighting through it. Take it from someone who knows.
I guess the world is full of educated medical doctors.
@MyTwoCentss - A lot of mental illnesses are like that. I happen to know because I’m bipolar. That’s why a lot of medications actually target the brain because it is a chemical imbalance most of the time(it can be caused by other factors, genetics etc;) but depression shouldn’t be dismissed because of that or any of the other disorders. It’s very serious and I know when I get in a very depressive state..it’s horrifying. I just happen to disagree with you on whether or not depression is actually a mental disorder (to me it is especially when it actually affects the quality of life etc;)
@iones_island - I hope you’re fucking joking because that’s not funny at all. It’s that kind of attitude that hurts and stigmatizes people that actually suffer. A lot of people don’t get help because of that attitude of yours and thus they get worse.
OP:
I think you’re talking about Depression aka Major Depression-so yes, that is a mental illness. Regular depression is not. The thing I’ve noticed is when depression actually starts to affect your life in a very negative way. And real sufferers of depression know what I’m talking about too. It’s different from just depression aka sadness (sometimes mislabeled as depression) we face in our real lives. There is a big difference.
I’m mentally ill and I’m not depressed.
Depression is…
Not real.
Sadness is real. The bullshit people have to deal with in this millennium is real. “Depression” is just… no. That is my official scientific answer. “Just no.”
It’s an evolutionary thing, yes. Something that should be treated with medication? No. It’s more like a trait than an illness or a disease. An evolutionary error.
A prevalent and increasing congenital disorder that may appear at any stage of life with or without apparent cause.
If you have an allergy to cherries, don’t eat cherries. It’s that simple.
If you suffer from depression, smoke pot, take uppers, basically just avoid things that trigger it and do what makes you feel good.
If nothing seems to make you feel good, I can guaran-fucking-tee you have never tried bike jousting or jumping on a trampoline with cinder blocks (the goal is to avoid them, btw) or taking apart fireworks and reassembling them into bigger fireworks (I guess I should say NOT to do any of that, but seriously…).
One time, me and 5 friends filled an empty pill bottle with some funky gunpowder out of like 20-titanium firecrackers and set it in the middle of the street, this huge black dude (C-Street gang leader “Tyrese”, don’t worry he’s cool with us for God knows what reason) walks up as we’re lighting the fukin’ thing, crouches down next to it, points his finger literally 2 inches away from it as the fuse is burning and says “Wuz this thing?”, we’re all like slow-motion “NOOOOO!!!!” and BAM. No damage or anything, burn his finger a little bit, but scared the FUCK out of him. This muscly 6’6″ black dude screamed at the top of his lungs… Tell me you wouldn’t be laughing your ass off…
Srsly. Take risks. Do more fun shit. If you can’t think of anything fun to do… you’re not depressed, you’re just a very dangerous version of bored.
@RulerofMasons - sorry i got girls
Yes theres a chemical reaction in a lot of depressed peoples brains. Sometimes you need to get that leveled out before you can be happy.
@tru_indo - Well I got balls. Obey!! My nuts.
@Hinase - I think for me I fear the stigma if people see it as an illness or disorder. I prefer “episode” or something else. Why does it matter to me? Well, I was diagnosed with depression this summer & am on an anti-depressant. So while I’m sure I’m wrong technically, I just don’t like the stigma. And at any rate, I know it’s serious. It has & does interfere with my daily life.
@Hinase - no, i’m not joking i’m speaking from experience. I spent the first 18 years of my life being forced to take medications and see quacks AKA therapists and being stigmatized for that among other things, i was locked away in wards twice before i was out of junior high(middle school). i’ve noticed that not only are the times when i feel like ending it all i can draw a direct line back to decisions i have made and the consequences they bear, the same applies to people who bitch and moan about how horrible their lives are, it’s generally easy to see why they feel so awful, in fact, many times they even tell you why and they’re just to hard headed to admit that it’s the actual problem and/or do anything about it.
what you see here is not me simply being an ass(though i do not deny being one) it’s me being sick and tired of people making dumbass decisions without regard for the consequences and then expecting to be coddled or being surprised when it blows up in their faces emotionally. it’s me being fed up with friends who complain about the way their decisions are affecting them but then turn around and bitch me out if i try to encourage them(in a non ass way) to do better for themselves.
i only have about a minute left(i’m at work on break) so i won’t go into the way that prolonged stupidity as i called it affects the chemistry of the brain, but lets face it honestly, we know that certain activities and experiences have effects on our brain chemestry/release certain chemicals in the brain. it doesn’t take a genius to do the math on what continued self destructive behavior does.
as to my last comment about people not wanting to be around you, well, that’s one of my biggest complaints about the therapy scam.. if people were real about being the friends they should be then you wouldn’t have to pay someone to be there for you when you need someone to talk to.
i would say you are one up on the others who responded since you put some thought into it instead of just calling names like the morons who don’t have any idea what they are talking about (which is why i didn’t bother replying to them.)
You’re really asking that? Of course it is. Granted, a minor and fleeting depressive mood is no big deal. But, persistent and debilitating depression does exist, and it’s definitely a mental health issue.
D’uh.
@iones_island - Are you stupid, or what?
I’ve lost all hope in humanity after reading some of the comments to this.
Disease? Disorder? Does either matter? Yes, someone who has depression has something wrong with them in the way that someone with a broken foot has something wrong with them. It’s not a defect in their humanity, personality, soul, whatever but it is something that needs treatment. Same with all psychological disorders. Therapy and medication are the best course, but expensive and medication isn’t a solution; it just manages the symptoms. Therapy teaches a person to cope with it.
I have http://www.adultblogs.com/users/hateu001/
I have http://www.adultblogs.com/users/hate001/
I have http://www.adultblogs.com/users/hat001/
Depression CAN be a debilitating mental illness, but as many of the other posters have mentioned, at some levels it’s more or less a ‘normal’ set of emotions that most people have at one time or another. By no means am I a professional, but based on my limited experience (myself and some people close to me), in some cases depression could be a sign of another disorder, which may be better handled differently. Just my two cents.
A.D.H.D (mental disorder) with depression (Mental Illness), anxiety, and O.C.D, depression is a mental illness that branches off of A.D.H.D, Anxiety and O.C.D are disorders, and there is another considered mental illness that’s branched off my disorder — A.D.H.D — Alcohol and Drug abuse (substance abuse). All because of one disorder… Do I live like I’m sick, hell no! I’m better than that. But those I’ve listed are what they are and they shouldn’t be ignored, and they can’t be wished away.
I will say this too, those who don’t understand should research it via internet written by professionals, NOT ASK.COM! This will avoid the half-wit, know it all idiots that claim they know everything there is to know about mental illnesses/disorders and have been there, done that, experienced this and not even 20 years old. These disorders and illnesses are personal and they don’t effect everyone the same way. People don’t act the same way, people are different even though there are main symptoms that will give PROFESSIONALS an IDEA of what is troubling said individual.
I hope that helped. I wasn’t trying to write this comment in a bitter tone, I’m just sick of fuckin’ know it alls… Shit, this comment probably doesn’t even have to do with anyone but what i’m struggling with. LOL! What the hell IS wrong with me? And why do I keep writing, I can’t stop, Okay, I’m stopping….
Later.
Depression can be cured by boobs. So ladies need to make the world a happier place.
Speaking from personal experience of dealing with mental illness for 23….I can definetly yes there is a biolobical cause for many people who have illness some of us were born with it and it is in our genes…all the psychiatrist that I have seen over the years have come to that conclusion several based on their o bservations of my sicknesses, various diagnosis, length of some of the episodes and the fact that medications and shock treatment have worked efffectively for me over when chances are thwey would not have if my mental illnesses were strictly psychological and they have also thoroughy studied my family history and my national heritages unfortunetly at the present timne in our history they do not have any specific other than brain mapping (which has made a diagnosis of mental illness more specific by identifying certain chemicals in your bain that ar definetly to certain forms of mental illnesses but only rich people can aford to have it done because it cost over $80, 000 abnd is cost prohibitive for most patients….and the theory that one day brain stem cell research will be even more effective in connecting biology to mental illness but unfortunetly that was blocked by The Christian Right and will not be available for about another 50 years and will remain just a theory until even the general scientific opinion is that it would have definetly tied biology to mental illness. The reason why they think mine is due to a defect in my DNA is because a lot of my cousins Norwegian and Russian spent theoir lives suffering mental illnesses and died from either suicide or in sanitariums and periods where they spent large parts of their livws and they tied into heritage and have have successfully shown that it is hereditary if it is natural cause of mental (there are also unnatural causes like hard core drug abuse that make it biological because hard drug abuse drugs like cocaine do a lot damage to your brain atoms, electrons and brain membrane that cause mental illnesss either immediately or years after you have stopped. I have a friend who has to spend the rest of her life in a state mental institution here in New Jersey because she did an awful lor of cocaine in her teenage years…and she is so bad now that she is hardly ever in touch with reality and can not function in society and has ben locked away for the rest of her life. She can have visitors but she will never know freedom again and she is only in her forties and then there are legitimate psychological causes for some patients but teven there you have the drug users from the fortunate people who were born with it built into their DNA or RNA. The country that is definetly the leader in the field of psychiatry is Germany. And they cam ewith a lot of scientific research over this past winter and release the results in reliable scientific and psychiatric reliable trade journals that I read over the winter so ther is no doubtr that mental illnes can be biologically and family research is a definite necessity. Unfortunetly Germany became the leader in psychiatry in the early twenty because they scientific information that was coming out of America and used it to build the basis for waht eventually became The Holocaust. It was called at the time “Eugenics” and was a big improvement in the psychiatry field of the early twentieth but it ended up being used for all the wrong reasons. I just read about it in a book called “Mad in America: Bad Medicine, BadScience abd The Enduring Mistreatment of the Mentally Ill” by Robert Whitaker. Depression is normal if it does not last more than two weeks is the basic agreement. I have had depression for over a year at points in my life so it is definetly a mental illness for some people but the problem is that definition of it has become very porous and it is being overdiagnosed in my opinion now and this is resulting in higher cost for the taxpayer which is not…an example they grief to the list of symptoms that can get a “depression” diagnosis here in New jersey and that is incorrect grief is a normal emotion. If you want to hear more either read my blog or ask me any questions you might have. I am a pro active mental patient. Level 4 “highly functionable” and I will do the best I can to answer your questions.Yes it defiently can be a mental illness along with many other symptoms. Sleeplesness, weight loss, and so and so forth its is all taken into accoun before it is declared a mental illness by a good psychiatrist.
@RulerofMasons - stop harrassing me u fuckin queer
Something defective about people with depression? That is harsh. A human being cannot be defective. A human being is not something manufactured by a factory. And there is nothing wrong with a person because they are depressed. They just might need a little help from their friends, but who doesn’t? They need to be told that there are alternatives and ways to make them not feel depressed, but not there is something wrong with them.
@iones_island - Wow, fucking really? Do you know anything about neurotransmitters? About how human emotions are chemical reactions in the brain and in some individuals there are imbalances in said chemicals? Sure, there are teenagers who have mild depression or tend to dramatize things, but in time (with hormones and all) they usually get over it. However, I have a type of depression where I can’t feel human emotions, nor joy, nor sadness, nor hope or love. I come off as a cold unfeeling bastard because more often than not, I’ll think people are exaggerating their emotions for attention (which most people do to a certain extent) however, if I were to get examined, chances are I have an emotional imbalance. Because feeling is a part of being human and I can’t feel shit.
You think depression is a result of stupid decisions?
In that case, I’ll take your ignorant response as a result of your overall stupidity. Period.
Special note: My mother went into a depression so extreme after being laid off work (outsourced) she had a terrible mental breakdown and had to be institutionalized for nearly a month. She’s never been the same since and even with the pills she has to swallow she’s still not the same. You tell me if that’s a god damn choice.
Yes and no………easy huh? Chemical imbalance of neurotransmitter serotonin can cause depression but not necessarily mania or schizoid problems! Environment and upbringing can play large parts in how e view our own world! Abuse and neglect can alter the perception of an otherwise”healthy and normal” mental outlook! all in all life is a crap shoot and we are the dice!
I find jews to be terribly depressive.
Every single person in the world gets depressed at one point in their lives, maybe more than a handful of times depending on what issues go on in their lives… And DEALING with the depression also depends on that person! If you sit and mope around forever because you got depressed, you’re never going to change you’ll keep being depressed.. But if you think some positive thoughts, or find some company do SOMETHING to cheer yourself up, or change/deal with the situation- you depression will also change… to GOOD FEELINGS. I think the world nowadays is so stuck on having a ‘disorder’ or trying to put a name on everything that they don’t think deeper into WHY in the first place. And then they’ll get put on depression medication that if they weren’t even depressed in the first place- WILL make them a depressed zombie for the rest of the time they take that medication. This comment is based on my opinion and experiences with friends and personal experiences. You do not have to agree with me!
@MyTwoCentss - I don’t like the stigma either. I think we all do. It’s a common fear honestly.
@iones_island - I’m sorry you were forced into something like that. No one should be forced into those decisions like that especially considering therapy and medication. Everyone should have the right to choose. I understand what you’re trying to say and I know what you mean about people blaming their decisions and whining but I’m actually talking about the real illness, not the one that people just conveniently can trace to decisions made in life. Real depression really has no cause and effect from decisions. It’s just sort of there. What you’re talking about probably isn’t depression but something else. It’s easy to mistake the two. Real depression is unfathomable and doesn’t give reasons to why it’s happening. Sometimes there is triggers(which is really different) but most of the time, there isn’t. You have to understand the differences between the two.
I think a lot of normal people don’t understand about mental illness, even my friends are pretty clueless, so it’s difficult to actually talk to them about my illness, at least with therapists, they are trained and educated in the ways that normal people aren’t. You can’t be therapist without knowing a thing or two about psychology especially when you have patients that are mentally in or have problems (that’s why a lot of people go to therapists). I wish my friends could know the stuff that they do because it would be easier and possibly cheaper to have friends talk to me but they don’t, so what else can be done?
But I am sorry you went through bad experience very young, it’s really enough to hurt anyone, honestly.
You know – it interesting how people think the most important thing in life is arguing about stuff. For example, some people say that guns don’t kill people, that people do. I am pretty sure that people who get hit by bullets don’t much care about the arguments – only that they were ripped apart by a bullet.The same thing is probably true of people suffering from the symptoms of depression – or whatever ailment it is. Yet somehow people think that if they argue about stuff – and decide what labels to put on things – or decide what THEY think is true – somehow that will make things all better.
Yes and no. I think that yes it is a disease that needs help, but there are also a lot of misdiagnosis out there. I know up here in Fargo, ND there is such a things a winter depression and it is from not getting enough sun during the winter months, i think that is not a disease. but sometimes it is.
i have depression and i think it is an illness but i am coping with it in the right kind of ways! also medications dont usually help for everyone.
@MyTwoCentss - agreed!
i tend to think depression is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation. Life in imbalance can make one depressed. A chemical imbalance can occur when one is subjected to abnormal circumstances for a prolonged period, particularly in childhood. Sometimes the best thing one can do is go take a walk or get into therapy. Usually drugs are not necessary IMO.
So the question in my mind is exactly how chronic the depression is. Depression should probably be considered clinical in relation to how pervasive it is in a person’s functioning.
Example: Someone whose mother passes away. Grief will be expected, and probably a reasonable period is a year at the outset. If the depression sinks deeper in, though, and becomes chronic, lasting for decades in the person’s life, and interferes with them having a life at all – especially if they begin developing other mental complexes – then I would consider it clinical.
Also to watch out for would be self-medication in the form of alcohol and drugs, and maybe behavior that indicates a lack of care about self (suicidal tendencies and whatnot). Or moments of lucidity in which the person themself tells you they are having problems, and describes them to you.
I would not consider a person with depression “defective” in any case; it makes them sound like a broken machine. On a related note, there is also (in my opinion) an inappropriate stigma that comes with the terminology “mental illness”. I would use that term to mean a mind-based condition that is inhibitive of the patient’s natural and bodily-functional experience of life; for instance, the system is hard-pressed to sustain a persistent depression or mania, both of which can interfere with sleep, which worsens either tendency, and so on.
No. It’s situational and the “experts” who say it is are just trying to get more people hooked on more pills that will screw with your brain chemistry and make you spend more money on therapy and meds.
There are no true mental disorders, being diagnosed and treated causes them. Look at the symptoms of all those illnesses and tell me they can’t be “controlled” on their own.
All I can say is that most people have a mental illness, but alot never get treated for them. Depression is classified as a mental illness issue in the big psych manual and what not.
Yup
yes and no. No because MOST people just get sad and don’t know how to deal with it or just had something seriously upsetting happen.
They’re contributing factors to depression. I don’t believe a person can be depressed without reason. I believe it’s an illness created by pharmaceutical companies for profit.
Absolutely, you cannot help when you are depressed it is something that you have to mentally control!
I believe depression is mental. It doesn’t matter whether or not it’s an illness or disease or anything. At any rate there IS a difference between situational depression (the most common type), seasonal depression (usually fall into winter), and clinical depression. Clinical depression is the diagnosed type usually dealt with with SSRI’s. Severe cases are treated with ECT. Clinical depression has symptoms that last months regardless of the situation. So..in answer to your question, yes and no. I know, regardless of how you feel about depression you should NOT tell anyone they are defective no matter what the reason. Telling a depressed person they are defective can lead to worse things and is very un-therapeutic.