Depression

I get many unsolicited emails from a variety of sources on depression, most of them promoting one kind of drug or the other.


I find myself dismayed by this - not just because I am getting spam from drug companies—and who needs more spam?__but because of the misinformation contained in the messages.

One piece of misinformation is that depression is the result of a chemical imbalance in people's brains, when in the vast majority of situations, there is no evidence whatsoever to prove this assertion.

But the drug companies have been relentless in pushing this convoluted idea. And regrettably, with the help of some fancy scientific jargon, gadgetry, imaging technology and so on, they have been very successful in distorting what is a very significant psychological problem worldwide. With the help of these misinformation campaigns, pharmaceutical companies have built entire empires selling psychoactive, mind-altering drugs - drugs that often have side-effects that are extremely harmful to people. As recent studies have shown, some antidepressants actually increase suicidal thoughts in teenagers.

Drugs therefore are no panacea for depression. Considerable research evidence is now starting to prove this. It is, for example, the conclusion of the most recent meta analysis from the University of Hull in England, evaluating the findings of 46 drug studies that examined the effectiveness of so-called 'antidepressant' drugs. If drugs did control depression, it would not be on the rise worldwide despite the mass medicating of millions.

So what is depression, if not a chemical imbalance in the brain?

Depression is a very painful psychological state that is generally defined by the following cluster of symptoms, symptoms that vary somewhat from person to person, but last for several weeks at a stretch:


•Overwhelming sadness most of the day, nearly every day, as indicated by either subjective report (e.g., feeling low or empty) or observation made by others (e.g., appears tearful). In children and adolescents, this may manifest as an extended period of irritability.


•Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in most activities most of the day, for many successive days


•Significant weight loss when not dieting, or marked weight gain--e.g., a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month. A decrease or increase in appetite persisting nearly every day


•Insomnia or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping) nearly every day


•Psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day (i.e. restlessness and anxiety)


•Fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day


•Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt nearly every day


•Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or perpetual indecisiveness, nearly every day


•Recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan for committing suicide.

Why depression happens

People get depressed for a reason. Some are depressed because they are no longer able to cope with the high degree of stress in their lives, while others are depressed because they cannot seem to get themselves out of debt, no matter how hard they try. Some people are depressed because they are lonely and despite trying, cannot find someone with whom to share their lives. There are people who are depressed because they find their lives to be empty and meaningless, while others miss their kids who have moved away. Sometimes depression has to do with living with chronic illness or pain. At other times depression is about being in a dead-end job where a person has no power and is treated with disrespect and contempt.


Depression, in other words, has everything to do with the circumstances of our lives now—and only in the rare case does it have anything to do with chemical imbalances in our brain.

How can depression be cured?
We can start on the road to curing depression by first admitting what is not true, and that is, that depression is some kind of brain chemistry gone wrong. People who are depressed are not abnormal mutants and there is nothing wrong with their neurotransmitters. These people need a little help getting out of their individual situations. At times that help is simply having someone to talk to. At other times, people need more. Some may even need to discover why they are depressed because they may not even be able to articulate their emotions. After that, people need education in the management of depressive thoughts and emotions. They need training, support and skill building in real techniques they can apply to control and eradicate their depression. The plan will of necessity be different for each person because each person has his/her own reasons for being depressed. Some people may want help to redefine their lives because they are not happy with where they are. Others yet may need to find their faith, spirituality or meaning to fulfill lives they perceive as meaningless and empty. Each person requires care tailored to her individual need.

Dealing with depression takes time, patience, courage, and an honest investigation into the things that hurt and trouble us. To suppose that some pill is going to miraculously heal us of all our mental afflictions is to rely on a dangerous shortcut that does nothing to address the underlying causes of why we’re depressed in the first place.


Having said all that, let me also add that there are appropriate and necessary uses for drug therapies. As much as I oppose the rash and reckless dissemination of psychoactive drugs, mine is not a crusade against drugs in general. Along with depression I also specialize in pain management and there are many drugs that work wonders for pain. I encourage people to use these drugs to help them deal with their pain. I am not therefore opposed to the use of drugs for treatment of health ailments. What I am opposed to, however, is deception.