Is Depression really a disease?

Question

Is depression really a disease like tuberculosis or malaria? I think maybe in some cases it truly might be. but on the whole, I wonder if our society is going about this the wrong way. We have instant gratification of all our wants and needs at out fingertips, we don'ot ahve to work for anything, but we are miserable as a society. You can feel it, the sense of pointlessness, the superficiality of everything. Are things really better now than when people worked hard and came home to a large loving family every day. Does our obsession with instant pleasure today set us up for the feeling that our lives have no meaning later on?

I mean, if instant gratification (like s*x or drugs) really made you happy, wouldnt prostitutes and drug addicts be the happiest people in the world? Don't the people who sacrifice for something greater than themselves (i.e family, God, a calling) really end up feeling fufilled?

What kind of society do we live in that causes people to become depressed, and then gives them chemicals that interact with their brains in a way that makes them able to tolerate what is fundamentally wrong? And we don't even really understand the mind anyway, look at lall the people who commit suicide after going on such meds. Is this materialistic society really what is best for humans, who evolved to thirive on the plains of Africa, living in tightly knit families and working hard.

Answer 1

I believe that there was always depression but Psychology is a newer subject and many people did not seek treatment. I also agree that a simpler life, without so many wants may be a culprit. I can not decide whether it really is a net gain or net loss since the luxuries that we have now make life a whole lot easier.

Also there are many different kinds of Depression. There's the blues and clinical depression. A cause of some depressions is due to a nuerotransmitter malfunction. I suppose that's what makes this a disease.  

Answer 2

There was a net gain. I read an article a while back about a man who was depressed for years. He went on a cross-country hitchhiking trip, and while he was hitchhiking his depression vanished, because he was suddenly faced with real problems. He was focusing on how he would eat and where he would sleep and how he would get there. His brain was busy with survival. It had no time for depression.

I think people need much closer ties with other people, and a deeper sense of community. Also, if they felt they were truly working, not just having a job, they would be less depressed. I'd say there was a net gain, but we also lost a few things and now the challenge is to get back what we lost without sacrificing what we have.

Answer 3

There is situational depression: You had a lousy day, you don't

think your significant other cares anymore, you got three traffic tickets.

Or it's just a lousy low-down day, everything's going wrong.

Then there is clinical depression, a disease like no other. You

are so far down there is no up, no matter who says what to you,

or how they try to help. Despair and pain are all that fills you.

Suicide looks like a good option sometimes.

The latter is caused in most people by chemical imbalances

in the brain and/or hormonal systems. It can in some cases be

treated by pills, talk therapy, and rest.

This is not a "cure" though. And as you said, it sometimes makes

it worse instead of better.

Yes, I do think the insistence that we all must be HAPPY! all the

time, and that things will make us so, is a trigger for a lot of the

former type of depression. It can be helped by saying no, and not

playing the thing game.

The latter, I do believe is at least partly triggered by all the

chemicals in our food, water, air, clothing, etc. It does not in

any way help our personal chemistries.

Answer 4

Depression is not when your dog dies and you cry, or when Baskin Robbins runs out of your favorite flavor of ice cream or you get wait-listed for a class you were really excited about. It's not even when you feel like not getting out of bed in the morning because your boyfriend dumped you. Depression is when you have a loving husband, supportive friends, a job and a family and STILL think every second of every day that the world would be better off without you. You truly believe that you are worthless as a human being.

I don't really know about the net loss or gain we've achieved over the years, but more choices aren't always a good thing. The more choices you have the less satisfied you're going to be because you'll always wonder if the others would have been better.

Answer 5

I quess you would call it a disease I call it a chemical imbalanced of the brain,.  I am biolar, I take med's., but 80% you have to do yourself, I keep myself out of situations that are very stressful, and I talk to myself when I feel like I'm going to lose it both these thinks help as much as the meds,  SOMETIMES.

Answer 6

In light of our "Pill-Happy" society, I have mixed feelings.

Depression in and of its self is a NORMAL part of life, the human experience. We cannot be "happy go lucky" 24/7/365.

Depression only becomes a "disease" when it effects you to the point that you cannot function on a day to day basis. Also, we are no longer taught good coping skills, people would rather "pop" a pill than actually deal with their issues.

This is coming from someone who has suffered clinical depression during HS, after learning some healthy coping skills and learning what my triggers and stressors were I have been able to find relief without "Big Pharma"

I highly recommend Yoga, Journaling, Meditation and finding someone to just be an ear.