4 ms·

> It's fundamentally a conscious choice - unlike depression, which has deep links with chemical equilibria. Just a heads up, I saw an article the other day tal

> It's fundamentally a conscious choice - unlike depression, which has deep links with chemical equilibria. Just a heads up, I saw an article the other day talking about how new research might show that depression might not actually have deep links with chemical equilibria: https://thenextweb.com/news/research-depression-not-caused-chemical-imbalance-brain https://thenextweb.com/news/research-depression-not-caused-c...

tepitoperrito 4y ago
As an alternative heads up, our entire experience of reality is subject to the whims of poorly understood chemical and physical homeostatic states. I just recently decided to pursue some genetic testing due to the night and day difference in my mood and motivation supplementing methylfolate (B9) and methylcobalamin (B12) had on me. It turned a mild bout of depression and long standing un-medicated adhd on it's head to the point that I feel like telling anyone who is looking for a "strategy" to first make sure their biology is in order. It helps loads. In any case, if someone knows how sound the science around MTHFR is I'd love to be wrong on the internet and hear about it (about 1 in 5 is the rate I was quoted for abnormalities with that methylation cycle). https://www.additudemag.com/mthfr-adhd-genetics-puzzle/ https://www.additudemag.com/mthfr-adhd-genetics-puzzle/
- jimkleiber 4y ago
  While I don't know much about the specific solution you recommend, I do appreciate what you said about us not knowing too much about the chemical an physical homeostatic states. Maybe what I was originally pushing back against was what I thought was the expression of certainty over specific chemicals causing depression, when I think there's a lot more we don't understand about the chemicals and even depression itself than we may admit, including any causal links.
toyg 4y ago
The fact is not rooted in it, doesn't mean there is no relation - if anything because the drugs do work to reduce or remove depression in a lot of people.
- jimkleiber 4y ago
  Fair point.
- karencarits 4y ago
  It is also possible (or likely?) that what we call depression is a collection of different conditions with similar presentation where some forms may be more related to chemical equilibria than others. E.g., https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-32521-z https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-32521-z
  - jimkleiber 4y ago
    I appreciate this as well. I think "depression" can very much be a catchall for things happening in the body, external behaviors, and more.

tepitoperrito 4y ago

As an alternative heads up, our entire experience of reality is subject to the whims of poorly understood chemical and physical homeostatic states. I just recently decided to pursue some genetic testing due to the night and day difference in my mood and motivation supplementing methylfolate (B9) and methylcobalamin (B12) had on me. It turned a mild bout of depression and long standing un-medicated adhd on it's head to the point that I feel like telling anyone who is looking for a "strategy" to first make sure their biology is in order. It helps loads. In any case, if someone knows how sound the science around MTHFR is I'd love to be wrong on the internet and hear about it (about 1 in 5 is the rate I was quoted for abnormalities with that methylation cycle). https://www.additudemag.com/mthfr-adhd-genetics-puzzle/ https://www.additudemag.com/mthfr-adhd-genetics-puzzle/

jimkleiber 4y ago
While I don't know much about the specific solution you recommend, I do appreciate what you said about us not knowing too much about the chemical an physical homeostatic states. Maybe what I was originally pushing back against was what I thought was the expression of certainty over specific chemicals causing depression, when I think there's a lot more we don't understand about the chemicals and even depression itself than we may admit, including any causal links.

toyg 4y ago

The fact is not rooted in it, doesn't mean there is no relation - if anything because the drugs do work to reduce or remove depression in a lot of people.

jimkleiber 4y ago
Fair point.
karencarits 4y ago
It is also possible (or likely?) that what we call depression is a collection of different conditions with similar presentation where some forms may be more related to chemical equilibria than others. E.g., https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-32521-z https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-32521-z
- jimkleiber 4y ago
  I appreciate this as well. I think "depression" can very much be a catchall for things happening in the body, external behaviors, and more.