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Alec, depression can begin in other ways too. As you say, one way can be depressive thinking such as after a sudden loss and other related stressful events. The mind focuses on the bad thing, which makes a person feel sad and then they continue focusing on that negative thing and so on. I've seen it before when people think God is out to get them, for example, instead of save and love them. Constantly thinking about a negative thing can lead to depression and I think this is the one aspect you refer to - which can be self-reinforcing.
HOWEVER negative thinking isn't the only way to depression. Another way is nutritional deficiencies. Our American diet is horrible, by default, and it is very difficult to change that (though it is possible). Even when diets change, our GI tracts, if not healthy, can make us feel sick. Research the GUT - BRAIN connection. People eliminating sugar, gluten and supplementing with probiotics actually feel better physically AND MENTALLY - cool eh? That is proven - look it up.
Secondly as we age HORMONES change in men and especially women. Many people suffer from hormonal imbalances. Some say improving diets and if possible eliminating sugar (which has a HUGE impact on hormones) resolves hormone problems. I'm not so certain that'll work for everyone. Hormones change as we age, especially women's. Added to this are all the synthetic hormones we all ingest everyday in our food (meat) supply - even drinking from plastic bottles the plastic product BPA (now replaced by the even worse BPS) has an estrogenic effect on the human body. This is very bad for health and mental health. Research 'symptoms of progesterone deficiency' and look at the list of mental health symptoms. Premenoupause begins around 35 years old and many women suffer needlessly as their progesterone levels drops - which happens around 35 years of age. Read the testimonials on this amazon.com product.
Additionally (especially if you are a man) lift weights 3 times a week and come back and tell us how you feel after 6 weeks. You, assuming you body isn't lacking nutrients (which if it is does the opposite), should be feeling really good. Why? That's because of an increase of Testosterone. Hormones impact mental health in ways 'thinking positive thoughts' cannot.
Finally stress, vitamin D deficiencies, lack of healthy oils and poor sleep (which can come from messed up hormones) contribute to real mental health disorders.
All of these are treatable but often not identified.
In conclusion, thinking on lovely, noble and true things (instead of FEAR) can help us maintain a good mental health picture. However, in this day and age we have to deal with many other things, such as low levels of hormones in our bodies, hormones in the food we eat, food allergies, poor GI health, lack of sound sleep, low vitamin D levels and a lack of healthy Omega-3 oils. The American population is suffering from poor mental health. This isn't a 'made up' and isn't as simple as 'think on good things.' There are root causes which need our help in understanding and need treatment. I believe there are REAL cures for REAL mental health disorders. Unfortunately our medical establishment doesn't look for root causes in this area and anti-depressive pills can actually (as time passes) make depression and suicidal tendencies worse (this is proven). All the recent school gunmen were ALL ON SOME SORT of anti-depression medication. So to just reduce this complex topic to 'think on good things' is, in our day and age, totally wrong and can hurt a loved one who is suffering - as though it is their fault - adding the burden of guilt onto their shoulders.
Bonus recommendation - look up pregnenolone (naturally occurring in the human body but decreasing with age) and it's impact on hormones and how it helps improve mental health.
My daughter had a great doctor... all she said was ....she is hopeless........HOPE and he loss of it is what is it about.
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yes
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alec Bachlow
My daughter had a great doctor... all she said was ....she is hopeless........HOPE and he loss of it is what is it about.
Yes hope is a shining light to the soul and brings strength to the body. I didn't mean to say that something else HAS to be off, it is possible to just lose hope and become depressed. However not all depression is from just losing hope nor is all recovery as simple as gaining hope. Sometimes an underlying issue is treated and hope returns. God's love shown in Jesus' sacrificial death for the free full forgiveness of sins, once believed on by our heart, is the greatest source of hope known to man IMHO (feel free to debate ). 'Go and sin no more' continues to feed hope as we continue in forgiveness by God's grace though just believing it. I have also known people who's depression left when they 'stop trying to control the world' so to speak and trusted/gave the outcome to God. However if lead or some other ROOT cause is the source then mental illness remains until the root source is removed.
Comparing depression to diabetes is ridiculous. As has been posted, the claims that were made by the drug industry in the 90's to promote their products (i.e., the "chemical imbalance" theory) have been debunked.
The brain doesn't just "go bad" for no reason (no injury or pathogen).
So how do they explain when someone basically "snaps"? And I don't mean they go on a killing rampage, but just that their mental state changes completely? I would love to know what triggered my mental break.
Comparing depression to diabetes is ridiculous. As has been posted, the claims that were made by the drug industry in the 90's to promote their products (i.e., the "chemical imbalance" theory) have been debunked.
The brain doesn't just "go bad" for no reason (no injury or pathogen).
Chemical imbalance is very real. I've done so much research on this and I have never run across any article where it was debunked. And mental illness can happen anytime in your lifetime. No one really knows what triggers it because no one is an expert on the brain.
Comparing depression to diabetes is ridiculous. As has been posted, the claims that were made by the drug industry in the 90's to promote their products (i.e., the "chemical imbalance" theory) have been debunked.
The brain doesn't just "go bad" for no reason (no injury or pathogen).
NO. Experts in the field, you know the people with education and experience, have not debunked any such thing. Just because you don't believe it means diddly squat.
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your thought?
Quote:
Originally Posted by psichick
So how do they explain when someone basically "snaps"? And I don't mean they go on a killing rampage, but just that their mental state changes completely? I would love to know what triggered my mental break.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by imcurious
Comparing depression to diabetes is ridiculous. As has been posted, the claims that were made by the drug industry in the 90's to promote their products (i.e., the "chemical imbalance" theory) have been debunked.
The brain doesn't just "go bad" for no reason (no injury or pathogen).
one example of what could do it: hormonal changes from age or environmental exposure cause a neurotransmitter imbalance.
The brain doesn't just "go bad" for no reason (no injury or pathogen).
Of course it doesn't go bad for no reason -- but you are setting up a false choice by suggesting that physical injury or infection are the only possibilities.
There are many disease processes that don't involve pathogens, but involve dysregulation in body systems. To function properly, a zillion things have to go right, and so it's no surprise that sometimes they don't. Diabetes is a perfect example; there is no physical injury and no pathogen involved. It is a genetic tendency to optimize the body in a certain way, classically for the sparse life of a nomadic hunter-gatherer or some other harsh or feast-or-famine environment like the arctic circle nations. Optimizing for one thing always makes some other thing sub-optimal. When people with those genes eat a western diet and live a sedentary western lifestyle, their system doesn't cope, and we compensate for that with medications and other therapies including behavioral modification (diets, exercise).
Mental health treatment works exactly the same way and mental illness has exactly the same class of explanation.
The brain is a warm and unstable environment for electrochemical interactions. It's amazing that it works as well as it does most of the time. It is no surprise that it goes on "tilt" without the presence of injury or pathogens.
No we don't know and this is the problem. There are so many with treatment resistant depression because the current drugs don't work for many. I don't think enough research is being done about this.
I was on a/d's for a while. I was amazed at how clearly I could think and how I was able to get up and get things done. I was also in therapy and taking it seriously because I wanted to get better and change my life. The therapist described it as learning to ride a bike--the therapy is learning to ride the bike and the a/d's help you get started by giving you a push. In other words, having the clarity of thought and the ability to get up, get dressed, and get moving that the meds provided enabled me to do the work required by therapy. I no longer take the anti-depressants because I've learned to manage the depression and other issues I had, but I do sometimes miss having that quiet mind that the a/d's provided.
Note that this is my experience only. Someone with much more severe depression may have to rely on the a/d's to survive. I didn't care much if I lived or died, but I wasn't suicidal.
Re the bolded--the doctor who prescribed the anti-depressants said to me one day, "You do realize that you are all guinea pigs, right? There is so much we don't know about the brain. Fifty years from now, psychiatrists will say, 'what the HELL were they doing?' But research is going on and for now, this is the best we have."
So, I took meds that made me feel more normal mentally, but they also made my toes twitch and move on their own.
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yes
). 'Go and sin no more' continues to feed hope as we continue in forgiveness by God's grace though just believing it. I have also known people who's depression left when they 'stop trying to control the world' so to speak and trusted/gave the outcome to God. However if lead or some other ROOT cause is the source then mental illness remains until the root source is removed. 
your thought?
