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"You're depressed? Here: instead of fixing the problem that's causing your sadness, take this pill and it'll all be fine!" I find this attitude perplexing. Ins

"You're depressed? Here: instead of fixing the problem that's causing your sadness, take this pill and it'll all be fine!" I find this attitude perplexing. Instead of facing the problem(s), drug your mind so you're less aware of the sadness it's causing you. Reminds me of the soma in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. And yes, I recognize that there are certain people who suffer from major clinical depression. By all means, prescribe then anti-depressants. I just think that our brains experience sadness for a reason: it's a signal that something is wrong in our life and that we need to change it.

DanBC 10y ago
Doctors (should) know the difference between situational depression and regular depression. Many people have depression and there's nothing particularly in their life causing it.
- duderific 10y ago
  I wonder if it has to do with the difference between expectation and reality. If you expect your life to be like that of an attractive and successful character on a TV show or movie, or a celebrity, then chances are you'll be disappointed and possibly depressed. Technically, nothing in your life is "causing it" other than unrealistic expectations.
  - taylorlunt 10y ago
    This is definitely not my experience. I would say that, other than my depression, I am very satisfied with my life. My life isn't perfect, but I'm happy with it. I have no self-esteem issues either. It might seem unusual to hear someone with depression say they are, depression aside, satisfied with their life, but sometimes depression just doesn't have a clear cause. I wonder if depression is more biological for some people.
elihu 10y ago
This isn't an area I'm an expert in, so take this with a grain of salt, but my understanding is that one of the symptoms of depression is the inability to feel certain emotions, and that antidepressants will in some cases restore your ability to feel those things. (The reverse may be true for some people as well, but it's not generally true that the purpose of antidepressants is to make you numb to your problems.)
jokoon 10y ago
You can't always change the things in your life, or change yourself. It's easy to say "I should be more motivated, change job, get that degree". Anti depressants help people to feel less bad, but it won't change them. It's not a magic pill but it's welcome. Psychiatry is about medicine, it's not about changing the world or changing people.
rev_bird 10y ago
>I just think that our brains experience sadness for a reason: it's a signal that something is wrong in our life and that we need to change it. Forgive me, but I don't understand how someone can just decide to come up with alternate explanations of attentively studied medical conditions. While there's still a long way to go in understanding clinical depression, we know for sure that particular chemical imbalances in the brain, or the inability to process those chemicals, cause the most commonly recognized symptoms and behavior. This is like telling someone with diabetes, "I just think your pancreas is trying to tell you that your life is missing something."

DanBC 10y ago

Doctors (should) know the difference between situational depression and regular depression. Many people have depression and there's nothing particularly in their life causing it.

duderific 10y ago
I wonder if it has to do with the difference between expectation and reality. If you expect your life to be like that of an attractive and successful character on a TV show or movie, or a celebrity, then chances are you'll be disappointed and possibly depressed. Technically, nothing in your life is "causing it" other than unrealistic expectations.
- taylorlunt 10y ago
  This is definitely not my experience. I would say that, other than my depression, I am very satisfied with my life. My life isn't perfect, but I'm happy with it. I have no self-esteem issues either. It might seem unusual to hear someone with depression say they are, depression aside, satisfied with their life, but sometimes depression just doesn't have a clear cause. I wonder if depression is more biological for some people.

elihu 10y ago

This isn't an area I'm an expert in, so take this with a grain of salt, but my understanding is that one of the symptoms of depression is the inability to feel certain emotions, and that antidepressants will in some cases restore your ability to feel those things. (The reverse may be true for some people as well, but it's not generally true that the purpose of antidepressants is to make you numb to your problems.)

jokoon 10y ago

You can't always change the things in your life, or change yourself. It's easy to say "I should be more motivated, change job, get that degree". Anti depressants help people to feel less bad, but it won't change them. It's not a magic pill but it's welcome. Psychiatry is about medicine, it's not about changing the world or changing people.

rev_bird 10y ago

>I just think that our brains experience sadness for a reason: it's a signal that something is wrong in our life and that we need to change it. Forgive me, but I don't understand how someone can just decide to come up with alternate explanations of attentively studied medical conditions. While there's still a long way to go in understanding clinical depression, we know for sure that particular chemical imbalances in the brain, or the inability to process those chemicals, cause the most commonly recognized symptoms and behavior. This is like telling someone with diabetes, "I just think your pancreas is trying to tell you that your life is missing something."