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Anecdotally a doctor friend confirmed this same observation to me after doing a psychiatry rotation - they suggested that most people with depression were just

by yomly 6y ago

Anecdotally a doctor friend confirmed this same observation to me after doing a psychiatry rotation - they suggested that most people with depression were just sad but wanted a magic pill to cure the unpleasant emotion.

ip26 6y ago
It's hard to know if you are clinically depressed. I've asked myself the question many times, and can never really say for sure.
- Johnjonjoan 6y ago
  Usually if everyone around you would say you're one of the happiest people and you think you're also one of the saddest you are depressed. "Happiness has nothing on the overcompensations for misery" - Huxley If you're sad for a good/known reason you probably won't feel the need to overcompensate. Edit: I do not mean to say people who don't meet this criteria aren't depressed in any way shape or form.
- jac241 6y ago
  https://www.mdcalc.com/phq-9-patient-health-questionnaire-9 https://www.mdcalc.com/phq-9-patient-health-questionnaire-9 . You deserve to feel happy and enjoy life. Don't let a stigma about mental illness prevent you from getting treatment (therapy and/or antidepressants) if you feel like you could benefit.
- 6nf 6y ago
  Clinical depression is diagnosed when 1) its ongoing over 6 months or more and 2) it's having a detrimental effect on your life or the lives of those around you Roughly speaking of course
  - logfish 6y ago
    You are correct for point 2, but as far as 1 goes: major depressive disorder (what most people mean when they say "clinical depression") requires only two weeks of anhedonia/decreased mood plus a few more symptoms to be diagnosed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519712/table/ch3.t5/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519712/table/ch3.t5/. Which is interesting, because a significant number of mental health conditions do require 6 months of ongoing symptoms e.g. generalized anxiety disorder and schizophrenia. First line treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy and an SSRI.
  - kzrdude 6y ago
    Cool. I had some annoying friends ask me if when I was referring to a depressed period, I was clinically depressed. (It sounded so dismissive to me, to ask if it was clinically or not.) Never really knew what it would mean (to be open about it, it affected me for years.. and I consider it over nowadays :).
- ghostbrainalpha 6y ago
  I never thought of myself as depressed. Then I tried to sign up to be part of a Stanford Study, and the person reviewing my answers to a questionnaire rejected me for depression and said I should get help. It was absolutely shocked at the time. But in hindsight the frequency with which I considered ending my life should have been a clue.
  - kirsebaer 6y ago
    Most people never ever think about suicide. You might consider if you fit with "complex PTSD" or "childhood emotional neglect". This seems common among high-achieving tech people.
    - ghostbrainalpha 6y ago
      "Most people never ever think about suicide" That was such a huge insight to me that I still struggle with it almost 15 years later. It's like a Fish out of the fishbowl moment, discovering that other peoples inner dialogue can be so much more positive.
mrkurt 6y ago
Depression isn't "sad". Depression _can_ be a function of the environment, but it's still not "sad". Sad is a healthy, appropriate emotion. Depression is a numbness that makes it difficult to even feel sadness.
- jac241 6y ago
  Amen. Depression is a a feeling of worthless or loss of interest in things that is significant enough to negatively impact your life.
- garbagetime 6y ago
  Depression as you mean it is a proper state for a person to be be in when his life and the world about him seem to be very wrong. To delete depression rather than addressing the root causes seems strange and inhuman.
  - BurningFrog 6y ago
    The root causes are often unfixable. So you try to fix the other side of the equation. Often it means adjusting unrealistic expectations. Like if I'm sad because I'm not a famous movie star. You could either make me a movie star, or make me accept that this is very likely not going to happen, and that's OK. Nothing inhuman about that.
    - squiggleblaz 6y ago
      The root cause of that isn't that you're not a famous movie star. It's that you have so ordered your life that all happiness depends on being a famous movie star. There's parts of that equation that can be changed: teaching you how to have reasonable goals might be one of them. Ignoring the fact that you're sad because you're not a famous movie star and giving you a happy pill is the inhuman step. It's the old adage in spades: "Give someone a fish and they'll eat for a day; teach them to fish and they'll eat for the rest of their life." Happiness in pill form is not happiness.
- jjeaff 6y ago

by yomly 6y ago

ip26 6y ago

It's hard to know if you are clinically depressed. I've asked myself the question many times, and can never really say for sure.

Johnjonjoan 6y ago
Usually if everyone around you would say you're one of the happiest people and you think you're also one of the saddest you are depressed. "Happiness has nothing on the overcompensations for misery" - Huxley If you're sad for a good/known reason you probably won't feel the need to overcompensate. Edit: I do not mean to say people who don't meet this criteria aren't depressed in any way shape or form.
jac241 6y ago
https://www.mdcalc.com/phq-9-patient-health-questionnaire-9 https://www.mdcalc.com/phq-9-patient-health-questionnaire-9 . You deserve to feel happy and enjoy life. Don't let a stigma about mental illness prevent you from getting treatment (therapy and/or antidepressants) if you feel like you could benefit.
6nf 6y ago
Clinical depression is diagnosed when 1) its ongoing over 6 months or more and 2) it's having a detrimental effect on your life or the lives of those around you Roughly speaking of course
- logfish 6y ago
  You are correct for point 2, but as far as 1 goes: major depressive disorder (what most people mean when they say "clinical depression") requires only two weeks of anhedonia/decreased mood plus a few more symptoms to be diagnosed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519712/table/ch3.t5/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519712/table/ch3.t5/. Which is interesting, because a significant number of mental health conditions do require 6 months of ongoing symptoms e.g. generalized anxiety disorder and schizophrenia. First line treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy and an SSRI.
- kzrdude 6y ago
  Cool. I had some annoying friends ask me if when I was referring to a depressed period, I was clinically depressed. (It sounded so dismissive to me, to ask if it was clinically or not.) Never really knew what it would mean (to be open about it, it affected me for years.. and I consider it over nowadays :).
ghostbrainalpha 6y ago
I never thought of myself as depressed. Then I tried to sign up to be part of a Stanford Study, and the person reviewing my answers to a questionnaire rejected me for depression and said I should get help. It was absolutely shocked at the time. But in hindsight the frequency with which I considered ending my life should have been a clue.
- kirsebaer 6y ago
  Most people never ever think about suicide. You might consider if you fit with "complex PTSD" or "childhood emotional neglect". This seems common among high-achieving tech people.
  - ghostbrainalpha 6y ago
    "Most people never ever think about suicide" That was such a huge insight to me that I still struggle with it almost 15 years later. It's like a Fish out of the fishbowl moment, discovering that other peoples inner dialogue can be so much more positive.

mrkurt 6y ago

Depression isn't "sad". Depression _can_ be a function of the environment, but it's still not "sad". Sad is a healthy, appropriate emotion. Depression is a numbness that makes it difficult to even feel sadness.

jac241 6y ago
Amen. Depression is a a feeling of worthless or loss of interest in things that is significant enough to negatively impact your life.
garbagetime 6y ago
Depression as you mean it is a proper state for a person to be be in when his life and the world about him seem to be very wrong. To delete depression rather than addressing the root causes seems strange and inhuman.
- BurningFrog 6y ago
  The root causes are often unfixable. So you try to fix the other side of the equation. Often it means adjusting unrealistic expectations. Like if I'm sad because I'm not a famous movie star. You could either make me a movie star, or make me accept that this is very likely not going to happen, and that's OK. Nothing inhuman about that.
  - squiggleblaz 6y ago
    The root cause of that isn't that you're not a famous movie star. It's that you have so ordered your life that all happiness depends on being a famous movie star. There's parts of that equation that can be changed: teaching you how to have reasonable goals might be one of them. Ignoring the fact that you're sad because you're not a famous movie star and giving you a happy pill is the inhuman step. It's the old adage in spades: "Give someone a fish and they'll eat for a day; teach them to fish and they'll eat for the rest of their life." Happiness in pill form is not happiness.
jjeaff 6y ago