Depression : State of mind or Medical condition

paradisiac · 24 Apr 2012 at 23:47

so depression, is it something you can just get yourself out of by changing your lifestyle. or is it an actual medical condition that without the right help/advice is something you will keep slipping back into?

Pawnless Endgame · 24 Apr 2012 at 23:49

I work at a psychiatric hospital and it is a known mental illness amongst some of our patients. Takes a lot of treatment with some cases. Not sure where we stand here though, as medical advice is a grey area on Overclockers. People aren't meant to ask for medical advice on here.

Dolph · 24 Apr 2012 at 23:50

Neither and both, it depends on the type of depression and whether it originates physically or mentally.

dirtychinchilla · 24 Apr 2012 at 23:53

Are you sure that they're mutually exclusive...surely, to some extent, a mental illness is a state of mind, just an abnormal one.

Van Hellseek · 24 Apr 2012 at 23:54

Well lets look at your question... You're asking if it's a "medical" condition.

definition of "Medical" said:
- Relating to the science or practice of medicine.
- Of or relating to conditions requiring medical but not surgical treatment: "a medical ward".

With the above definition the answer is obviously yes, since depression can be treated with psychiatric drugs.

However, I suspect what you are really attempting to ask is whether depression is biological or purely psychological. To which there is no clear-cut answer, because psychology is largely determined by a whole variety of factors, including biology.

paradisiac · 24 Apr 2012 at 23:54

Monserrat said:
I work at a psychiatric hospital and it is a known mental illness amongst some of our patients. Takes a lot of treatment with some cases. Not sure where we stand here though, as medical advice is a grey area on Overclockers. People aren't meant to ask for medical advice on here.

i wasnt asking for medical advice, just peoples opionions.

it just seems to me that these days, depression and stress seem to be the 'buzz words' used by doctors to get out of actually finding out whats wrong. the amount of people i know that go to their doctor and get told 'oh its stress related' or 'sounds like you have depression, have these happy pills and all is well'. i just wondered if people considered it to be something that was medical, or whether our lifestyles have changed causing us to believe we have a hard life and use it for an excuse.

dirtychinchilla · 24 Apr 2012 at 23:56

Quite possibly, but only you truly know what your state of mind is, and if you're lying to the doctor to get drugs then that could be considered mentally abnormal ie some form of addiction.

paradisiac · 25 Apr 2012 at 00:00

dirtychinchilla said:
Quite possibly, but only you truly know what your state of mind is, and if you're lying to the doctor to get drugs then that could be considered mentally abnormal ie some form of addiction.

i wouldnt say they lie, coz im sure they believe it. i get stressed at work, im sure everyone does and it sux, but i wouldnt say that i suffer from stress. but if i went to the doctor and explained my sypmtoms im sure they would write me out a note for some time off.
same with depression, surely everyone gets down, i mean, the world aint perfect. so how do you distinguish from just being low and being depressed? is there a difference, or does everyone suffer from a form of depression?

Nitefly · 25 Apr 2012 at 00:00

In short, it's both and I imagine one feeds the other.

paradisiac · 25 Apr 2012 at 00:02

Nitefly said:
In short, it's both and I imagine one feeds the other.

so people living their dream life shouldnt get depressed, but those that live day to day just going through the motions should suffer from depression. or are the people with the dream life just as likely, as with anything medical, it can happen to even the fittest of people.

Ephemera · 25 Apr 2012 at 00:10

There is a masive difference between stress and depression. Also agree with the above posters who say it can happen to anyone at anytime of their life.

[TW]Sponge · 25 Apr 2012 at 00:11

I suffer from a form of depression and 90% of the time I feel great. It's all to do with what's going on in the back of your mind rather than how you behave. I struggled with sleep quite a lot, whenever I rested, it would feel as though I was drunk and the room would start spinning. Not quite sure how to explain it.

All I'm trying to say is, I've been diagnosed with depression, but I feel great. Effects people in different ways I suppose.

bloodiedathame · 25 Apr 2012 at 00:13

I think it can rear it's ugly head in both forms you speak of. I suffered it badly as a teenager, took me a while to realise how to get the help I needed and how to keep it at bay. When a pretty big event happened a few years ago I fell into it again, but knew how to get myself out.

I can't say the same for other people I know, I don't know if it's willpower or understanding, but these folk need someone to take their hand and guide them to a better place.

Either way it's a bad place to be and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Nitefly · 25 Apr 2012 at 00:14

paradisiac said:
so people living their dream life shouldnt get depressed, but those that live day to day just going through the motions should suffer from depression. or are the people with the dream life just as likely, as with anything medical, it can happen to even the fittest of people.

What I meant was that if you suffer from a medical condition, you are more likely to be aware of this and let it influence your mood in a negative as opposed to a positive light. Also, if you have a negative state of mind, this is going bring your medical condition to the surface. It's sort of a viscous circle, in my own musings anyway.

Ephemera · 25 Apr 2012 at 00:17

[TW]Sponge;21760786 said:
I suffer from a form of depression and 90% of the time I feel great. It's all to do with what's going on in the back of your mind rather than how you behave. I struggled with sleep quite a lot, whenever I rested, it would feel as though I was drunk and the room would start spinning. Not quite sure how to explain it.

All I'm trying to say is, I've been diagnosed with depression, but I feel great. Effects people in different ways I suppose.

This is exactly how I started. I was diagnosed with depression in 2009 and have battled against it since. At first I felt great but it soon descended into chaos, getting no more than a few hours of sleep a week at best. If anyone reading thinks they may have depression then go to the doctors straight away, do not leave it.

Buchanan0204 · 25 Apr 2012 at 01:01

Prozac = tic tacs!

If your suffering from depression. You're depressed about "something." You may or may not know what that "something" is. However that's what needs addressing. You need to come to terms with the underlying issue and find peace with it. Only then will you get out of the dark hole that draws you down and turns you into a person you are not!

For most people I'd imagine they know what the problem is. Relationships, financial etc. Others it might be a childhood or abuse or something similar.

Definitely mental. Cognitive therapy is definitely better than popping pills.

It's like taking a pill to make yourself feel better about divorce. What you need is a new hot wife, not a pill. Point I'm trying to make is, you need to resolve your issues... not mask them with medication.

Van Hellseek · 25 Apr 2012 at 01:04

Buchanan0204 said:
It's like taking a pill to make yourself feel better about divorce. What you need is a new hot wife, not a pill. Point I'm trying to make is, you need to resolve your issues... not mask them with medication.

That doesn't mean there are not biological factors at play. Your post is suggesting it's 100% 'mental'... But biology plays a key factor in peoples state of psychology.

paradisiac · 25 Apr 2012 at 01:04

Buchanan0204 said:
Prozac = tic tacs!

If your suffering from depression. You're depressed about "something." You may or may not know what that "something" is. However that's what needs addressing. You need to come to terms with the underlying issue and find peace with it. Only then will you get out of the dark hole that draws you down and turns you into a person you are not!

For most people I'd imagine they know what the problem is. Relationships, financial etc. Others it might be a childhood or abuse or something similar.

Definitely mental. Cognitive therapy is definitely better than popping pills.

It's like taking a pill to make yourself feel better about divorce. What you need is a new hot wife, not a pill. Point I'm trying to make is, you need to resolve your issues... not mask them with medication.

this was what i was thinking, but then when i realised how many people i thought were perfectly 'normal' (i dont mean that anyone with depression isnt normal in anyway but its the best way to describe it) had been diagnosed with depression, had pills prescribed, but still live the same way they did before. so surely they will be on pills forever or will the pills take them to that happy place which will eventually lead them to changing their life?
it just puzzled me that it was soo common, but i knew very little about it.

Buchanan0204 · 25 Apr 2012 at 01:07

paradisiac said:
this was what i was thinking, but then when i realised how many people i thought were perfectly 'normal' (i dont mean that anyone with depression isnt normal in anyway but its the best way to describe it) had been diagnosed with depression, had pills prescribed, but still live the same way they did before. so surely they will be on pills forever or will the pills take them to that happy place which will eventually lead them to changing their life?
it just puzzled me that it was soo common, but i knew very little about it.

You might find in the less severe cases. People can put on a front for a while when out and about and in the company of others. When at home or alone, they dip into the lower state of mind which is then hard to snap out of. Usually in the morning and at night. Various things can trigger the low moods, depending on the situation and you're depressed in the first place.

It's very common, guaranteed so many people will work with or be friends with someone who has depression and they wont be aware of it.

ikillbears · 25 Apr 2012 at 02:12

Both. Depends on person