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Maybe not even having kids, but being engaged in something fully. From neuroscience, there's the default mode network. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Default_m

Maybe not even having kids, but being engaged in something fully. From neuroscience, there's the default mode network. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Default_mode_network https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Default_mode_network > It is best known for being active when a person is not focused on the outside world and the brain is at wakeful rest, such as during daydreaming and mind-wandering. Apparently, activation of the DMN is correlated to rumination, itself correlated to depression. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31655111/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31655111/ Interestingly, one thing often suggested to counter depression these days – meditation – generally says right on the tin that you're supposed to get into a wakeful rest state, but specifically try to avoid daydreaming and mind-wandering. (I should say that I'm no expert. Just passing along things that I've heard/read.) Edit: formatting

blauditore 3y ago
Might also be the additional social interaction (the kid is a human, even if a small one). I think many people felt this during the pandemic and its lockdowns.
- famahar 3y ago
  I know some people that got dogs (and kept them thankfully). Having someone in your life who's consistently happy to be in your presence is a pretty good antidepressant.
amelius 3y ago
There are many examples of people who are obsessed by work, and at the same time depressed. While the distraction can temporarily take away the depressive thoughts, it is by no means a solution. I think the social aspects of raising a kid could be a better explanation.
ninala 3y ago
Broadly speaking, engaging in a task activates the task-positive network, which actively suppresses the default mode network [1][2][3]. This likely happens during meditation [4], as during properly done meditation, one is supposed to be focused on the task of breathing. But this can be interrupted, particularly by stray thoughts/salience/attention shifts [5]. [1] "The human brain is intrinsically organized into dynamic, anticorrelated functional networks", https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.0504136102 https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.0504136102 [2] "The Brain's Default Mode Network", https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-neuro-071013-014030 https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-neuro-0710... {search for 'task-positive'} [3] "Neural antagonistic mechanism between default-mode and task-positive networks", https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925231220312066 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092523122... [4] "Mantra Meditation Suppression of Default Mode Beyond an Active Task: a Pilot Study", https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41465-017-0028-1 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41465-017-0028-1 [5] "Modulatory interactions between the default mode network and task positive networks in resting-state", https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4017816/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4017816/
ramblerman 3y ago
I guess there was something in the old proverb. “Idle hands are the devils workshop”.

blauditore 3y ago

Might also be the additional social interaction (the kid is a human, even if a small one). I think many people felt this during the pandemic and its lockdowns.

famahar 3y ago
I know some people that got dogs (and kept them thankfully). Having someone in your life who's consistently happy to be in your presence is a pretty good antidepressant.

amelius 3y ago

There are many examples of people who are obsessed by work, and at the same time depressed. While the distraction can temporarily take away the depressive thoughts, it is by no means a solution. I think the social aspects of raising a kid could be a better explanation.

ninala 3y ago

Broadly speaking, engaging in a task activates the task-positive network, which actively suppresses the default mode network [1][2][3]. This likely happens during meditation [4], as during properly done meditation, one is supposed to be focused on the task of breathing. But this can be interrupted, particularly by stray thoughts/salience/attention shifts [5]. [1] "The human brain is intrinsically organized into dynamic, anticorrelated functional networks", https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.0504136102 https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.0504136102 [2] "The Brain's Default Mode Network", https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-neuro-071013-014030 https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-neuro-0710... {search for 'task-positive'} [3] "Neural antagonistic mechanism between default-mode and task-positive networks", https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925231220312066 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092523122... [4] "Mantra Meditation Suppression of Default Mode Beyond an Active Task: a Pilot Study", https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41465-017-0028-1 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41465-017-0028-1 [5] "Modulatory interactions between the default mode network and task positive networks in resting-state", https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4017816/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4017816/

ramblerman 3y ago

I guess there was something in the old proverb. “Idle hands are the devils workshop”.