Comments on: UP CLOSE: Depression Roundtable Series Overview

By: Depression Roundtable, Part V: Parenting Children with Depression : Segullah

Depression Roundtable, Part V: Parenting Children with Depression : Segullah — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 13:35:44 +0000

[...] Parts I, II, III and IV can be found here, here, here and here. If you haven’t already read the series overview, please do so before [...]

By: Depression Roundtable, Part IV: Family Ties : Segullah

Depression Roundtable, Part IV: Family Ties : Segullah — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:33:04 +0000

[...] Parts I, II, and III can be found here, here, and here. If you haven’t already read the series overview, please do so before [...]

By: Depression Roundtable, Part III: Feeling Better : Segullah

Depression Roundtable, Part III: Feeling Better : Segullah — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:58:08 +0000

[...] about depression. Parts I and II can be found here and here. If you haven’t already read the series overview, please do so before [...]

By: m&m

m&m — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:11:54 +0000

Thanks, Marintha…it’s interesting to see how CFS, fibro and depression have some common factors and brain centers.

(Fortunately for me, I have less pain than some…more on the fatigue side than the pain side of the spectrum…but thanks for thinking of me.)

By: marintha

marintha — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:58:09 +0000

m&m
You might be interested to know that some of the new anti-depressants are being used really successfully to treat fibromyalgia. Drugs like Celexa target the pain centers of the brain. They’ve helped two of my family members.

By: m&m

m&m — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:56:38 +0000

I don’t disagree w/ anything you have said, esp that anyone can benefit from counseling (and also might benefit from meds, whether the ’cause’ is primarily biological or not – in the end, I think it’s always an interplay of the two anyway).

My comment comes from the clarity I got from my primary care doc who helped me understand how stressors can trigger chemical problems. That was an aha for me.

By: Kathryn Soper

Kathryn Soper — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:20:57 +0000

Sure, it’s helpful to understand that people without family history of depression can also suffer from it.

But again, there’s no test to determine whether you have “chemical” depression, because all depression has a chemical component. Whether chemistry imbalance is a cause or an effect, it’s consistently part of the physiological scenario.

And even if someone has strong genetic predisposition for depression, that doesn’t mean they won’t benefit from counseling–quite the contrary.

By: m&m

m&m — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:10:27 +0000

This distinction for me helped, though, because I didn’t really understand that situational stressors themselves could be triggers. I remember distinctly a conversation about that with my doc. I think, too, that awareness of what might cause depression could help with counseling treatment, no? I’m certainly no expert, but I can’t help but wonder if some people dismiss their symptoms because “I don’t have depression in my family, my genes, my history” — rather than realizing that it can sneak up on anyone depending on the situation.

By: Kathryn Soper

Kathryn Soper — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:03:25 +0000

Stephen, yes, studies have shown that melancholy individuals have sharpened abilities of perception, and history has shown a connection between melancholy and artistic ability.

That’s all fine and good until depression builds to the point where heightened powers of perception distort reality rather than illuminate it, and creative energies are sapped by the black vacuum of despair.

Your question about separating situational from biologic depression is a common one. Certainly there are cues to interpret in this matter–someone with a family history of depression is likely to be more biologically susceptible; and any human being under extreme stress also becomes susceptible. But there’s no line of demarcation between “chemical” and “non-chemical” depression. Every manifestation of depression is matched by changes in brain chemistry. There’s a chicken-and-egg effect that makes it nigh impossible to discern whether emotion causes those biologic changes, or vice versa. Most people with chronic major depression have their first episode in connection with a traumatic life event–that doesn’t mean they don’t have genetic predisposition. In sum, cause and effect cannot be clinically separated.

Before I sought treatment for my depression I quizzed a close friend of mine who is also a mental health professional. “How can I tell whether it’s caused by emotion or biology?” I asked. I was really, really hoping that I could pin it all on physiology so that I wouldn’t feel culpable.

She wisely pointed out that no matter what the initial trigger for depression, treatment is the same.

More on this later, because it’s such a central issue.

By: Stephen M (Ethesis)

Stephen M (Ethesis) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:26:21 +0000

Hmm, what about dealing with situational rather than biologic depression?

Though note:

http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/2010/02/28/mood-and-attentiveness/