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Depression is a medical diagnosis because it has physical make up that causes people to be depressed. I work and live with people who think depression is a "sp

by baldfat 10y ago

Depression is a medical diagnosis because it has physical make up that causes people to be depressed. I work and live with people who think depression is a "spiritual" or personal lifestyle problem. I think they are wrong. I lost a sister to cancer when she was 15, my brother to probably suicide when he was 19 and my son died of cancer at 12. I seriously can say I never had a day of depression. I have had a broken heart missing them and feeling the pain. I will cry for them (I did for my son on Sunday while I was unloading groceries (Go figure)) But I have never lost the taste of food nor anything else. I have sorrow but their is a root cause for that. Depression is sorrow with no real root cause (to me). So I usually come out to defend people who are depressed since I feel like I should be the kind of depression but have never experienced it due to the luck of my genetics.

ideonexus 10y ago
This is an incredibly insightful post on depression. As a father of two young children, I am incredibly sorry for your loss and reading about it really struck me... Strangely enough, this thread being about mindfulness meditation, made me halt my instinctive reaction to keep scrolling and confront the emotions I was feeling reading it. My instinct was to keep scrolling and distract my mind with other things, but instead I realize your post confronts me with the terrifying possibility of losing my own children. I think you really illustrate the difference between depression and sadness. Depression I imagine is like experiencing dulled senses, a vapid gray world of numbness. While sorrow and sadness are incredibly vivid emotions that can overpower us, like when they struck you so suddenly unloading groceries. I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing such personal information.
goda90 10y ago
But, there are lifestyle and "spiritual" things that can be done to help treat depression. Things like exercise, diet, social interaction, exposure to nature and sunlight, and other environmental factors can have an effect on the physical make up of the brain. Now none are cure alls and a lack of any one of them isn't necessarily to blame either, but there is merit to some of these "spiritual" practices that get more of those things in one's life.
- baldfat 10y ago
  > But, there are lifestyle and "spiritual" things that can be done to help treat depression (I am the OP on going through loss and sadness and not being depressed.) Yes 100% correct. Just like if you have heart disease or a bad back their are non-medical activities that will help those medical condition. My statement is that their is a medical piece that people discount and/or actually dismiss. A person can't just "fix themselves" and having the medical piece help them with treatment with counseling is a big help. Depression isn't that your sad. Depression Definition: Clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for weeks or more. Symptoms of depression include: Low mood or irritable mood most of the time Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much A big change in appetite, often with weight gain or loss Tiredness and lack of energy Feelings of worthlessness, self-hate, and guilt Difficulty concentrating Slow or fast movements Lack of activity and avoiding usual activities Feeling hopeless or helpless Repeated thoughts of death or suicide Lack of pleasure in activities you usually enjoy, including sex https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003213.htm https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003213.htm
- DanBC 10y ago
  Exercise is important, and it might help prevent depression, but the good quality evidence we have says that exercise is at best a weak treatment for depression for some people, and not at all a treatment for the rest.
CuriouslyC 10y ago
I have dealt with huge, soul crushing depression. In my case it was absolutely a spiritual/lifestyle problem. Specifically, my core values involve personal growth, and contribution to society, and I felt incapable of either. I had a good job, a girlfriend, good relationships with family, etc, but none of that mattered. The rational I had was that my in the big scheme of things I didn't matter - I could just as well not exist, and outside of a couple of people absolutely nothing would change. I feel like the massively connected nature of modern society is directly responsible for flourishing depression. Odds are, you are redundant; if most people disappeared suddenly, someone else could probably pick up the pieces in fairly short order. Additionally, being hyper-connected means that whatever you're good at, it is probably easy to find examples of people who are much better at it than you, which can be be somewhat marginalizing. Not feeling necessary or exceptional in any way is a pretty sure fire recipe for angst. The nasty thing about depression is that it is a self-reinforcing cycle. When you start to get depressed, your ability to take measures to address the root cause of the depression is impacted. The result is a downward spiral that results in self obviation, through suicide, self destructive behavior or substance abuse.

by baldfat 10y ago

ideonexus 10y ago

This is an incredibly insightful post on depression. As a father of two young children, I am incredibly sorry for your loss and reading about it really struck me... Strangely enough, this thread being about mindfulness meditation, made me halt my instinctive reaction to keep scrolling and confront the emotions I was feeling reading it. My instinct was to keep scrolling and distract my mind with other things, but instead I realize your post confronts me with the terrifying possibility of losing my own children. I think you really illustrate the difference between depression and sadness. Depression I imagine is like experiencing dulled senses, a vapid gray world of numbness. While sorrow and sadness are incredibly vivid emotions that can overpower us, like when they struck you so suddenly unloading groceries. I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing such personal information.

goda90 10y ago

But, there are lifestyle and "spiritual" things that can be done to help treat depression. Things like exercise, diet, social interaction, exposure to nature and sunlight, and other environmental factors can have an effect on the physical make up of the brain. Now none are cure alls and a lack of any one of them isn't necessarily to blame either, but there is merit to some of these "spiritual" practices that get more of those things in one's life.

baldfat 10y ago
> But, there are lifestyle and "spiritual" things that can be done to help treat depression (I am the OP on going through loss and sadness and not being depressed.) Yes 100% correct. Just like if you have heart disease or a bad back their are non-medical activities that will help those medical condition. My statement is that their is a medical piece that people discount and/or actually dismiss. A person can't just "fix themselves" and having the medical piece help them with treatment with counseling is a big help. Depression isn't that your sad. Depression Definition: Clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for weeks or more. Symptoms of depression include: Low mood or irritable mood most of the time Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much A big change in appetite, often with weight gain or loss Tiredness and lack of energy Feelings of worthlessness, self-hate, and guilt Difficulty concentrating Slow or fast movements Lack of activity and avoiding usual activities Feeling hopeless or helpless Repeated thoughts of death or suicide Lack of pleasure in activities you usually enjoy, including sex https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003213.htm https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003213.htm
DanBC 10y ago
Exercise is important, and it might help prevent depression, but the good quality evidence we have says that exercise is at best a weak treatment for depression for some people, and not at all a treatment for the rest.

CuriouslyC 10y ago

I have dealt with huge, soul crushing depression. In my case it was absolutely a spiritual/lifestyle problem. Specifically, my core values involve personal growth, and contribution to society, and I felt incapable of either. I had a good job, a girlfriend, good relationships with family, etc, but none of that mattered. The rational I had was that my in the big scheme of things I didn't matter - I could just as well not exist, and outside of a couple of people absolutely nothing would change. I feel like the massively connected nature of modern society is directly responsible for flourishing depression. Odds are, you are redundant; if most people disappeared suddenly, someone else could probably pick up the pieces in fairly short order. Additionally, being hyper-connected means that whatever you're good at, it is probably easy to find examples of people who are much better at it than you, which can be be somewhat marginalizing. Not feeling necessary or exceptional in any way is a pretty sure fire recipe for angst. The nasty thing about depression is that it is a self-reinforcing cycle. When you start to get depressed, your ability to take measures to address the root cause of the depression is impacted. The result is a downward spiral that results in self obviation, through suicide, self destructive behavior or substance abuse.