Depression : State of mind or Medical condition
- Thread starter paradisiac
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It sucks for sure.
I think its a bit of both. But if you're prone to it little things can trigger it off leading into a downward spiral where just about everything becomes an issue.
Its sure messing with my degree right now, but then its coupled with stress I suppose, which maybe triggered it off.
Its one of those things that is really hard to get out of, even if you know from the outside it doesn't look like much or you know you've got past it before, at the time you can't see it like that..
I think its a bit of both. But if you're prone to it little things can trigger it off leading into a downward spiral where just about everything becomes an issue.
Its sure messing with my degree right now, but then its coupled with stress I suppose, which maybe triggered it off.
Its one of those things that is really hard to get out of, even if you know from the outside it doesn't look like much or you know you've got past it before, at the time you can't see it like that..
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Both, I was the former (perhaps give more info when I get back from work).
Some get themselves into a state (me) and others are clinical like one of my Sister In Laws who has lithium deficiencys (or something) and her levels change constantly meaning she will never get out of it.
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I used to think it was all about your state of mind, which I do think is the case for a lot of people.
Having done some work in a care home there are definitely those that are mentally imbalanced, those which are severely medically depressed and those which are the same but triggered by drug/alcohol misuse.
I'll always remember one guy in the home who was severely depressed and triggered by alcohol - most haunting thing I've ever seen.
Having done some work in a care home there are definitely those that are mentally imbalanced, those which are severely medically depressed and those which are the same but triggered by drug/alcohol misuse.
I'll always remember one guy in the home who was severely depressed and triggered by alcohol - most haunting thing I've ever seen.
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depression can affect you physically with stomach issues or even back pain etc. i think its the body's way of trying to stop you doing things you dont like. i used to have a job i stopped enjoying and starting getting stomach problems. after a year or so i got another job i liked and they vanished. every now and again if i feel **** in the morning i can feel it coming back but now i know its mental i can override it.
my wife and her family all suffer from depression and its so odd seeing them up and down. sometimes for no reason at all.
i agree i think
we all get depressed but i guess some people can bounce back more easily and some people spiral downwards. drink doesnt help. so many people drink because they are depressed but alcohol makes you more depressed in the long term. so its a viscious circle. i just get home and have a dooby and im all good 
i can leave work behind as soon as i leave the office, some people cannot.
my wife and her family all suffer from depression and its so odd seeing them up and down. sometimes for no reason at all.
i agree i think
we all get depressed but i guess some people can bounce back more easily and some people spiral downwards. drink doesnt help. so many people drink because they are depressed but alcohol makes you more depressed in the long term. so its a viscious circle. i just get home and have a dooby and im all good i can leave work behind as soon as i leave the office, some people cannot.
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i just get home and have a dooby and im all good
You say you can just "leave work behind" as soon as you leave the office yet you require a drug ("dooby") to help facilitate that.
i would say there's a difference between clinical depression - a pervasive, disabling and chronic state of low mood with physical consequences such as weightloss, self-harm etc, and a bit of "dysthymia" which is what most people get
dysthymia happens to everyone, and can be triggered by adverse life events. those who are good "copers" shrug it off, others struggle
clinical depression is probably rare, and needs medication / psychological counselling, even an admission to a MH hospital if it's bad
dysthymia happens to everyone, and can be triggered by adverse life events. those who are good "copers" shrug it off, others struggle
clinical depression is probably rare, and needs medication / psychological counselling, even an admission to a MH hospital if it's bad
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i was unaware that you could also get physical symptoms aswell.
so can depression be hereditary?
Depends on the patient. Some depression is physiological, hence why they prescribe SSRI's and the likes to raise seratonin levels in the brain. I presume this is due to disregulation of the hormone by the hypathalamus (if my psychology knowledge is correct!).
It can also be down to things like a vitamin D deficiency, thyroid disorders etc. Theres a difference beetween SAD and depression, and between "moping" and depression.
It can also be down to things like a vitamin D deficiency, thyroid disorders etc. Theres a difference beetween SAD and depression, and between "moping" and depression.
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see this interests me. do doctors just play the depression card too quickly because someone is feeling low? is there a clear distinction between someone going through a rough patch in their life make them over emotional and have similar symptoms to depression, and someone who is medically depressed? or are they one in the same, just at different ends of the spectrum?
It is a definite medical condition. Ignore those who would say otherwise. It manifests itself in many ways with common symptoms experienced by all and peculiarities that are rather individual. Therefore, depression is not a specific condition more a set of symptoms. Therefore, you are treating in the main symptoms. This concept is rather important.
Let me expand on that by moving on a tangent. If someone were to have some symptoms etg runny nose and be sneezing then one person may respond well to anti-histamine whereas another may not. That will down to whether those symptoms were caused by say hayfever or not. If those symptoms were caused by something else, eg influenza, then anti-histamines would not be very effective.
This moves us therefore onto depression. If one could narrow down one persons cause of depression to a pure hormone imbalance caused by a specific faulty gene (hypothetically) then one could alleviate that person's depression by addressing that imbalance with say medicine. No amount of "cognitive behavioural therapy" would work at all as the problem is purely 'organic' in origin. However, if someone is suffering depression as a result of their lifestyle and that lifestyle is causing processes that cause a hormone imbalance then just giving medication will not purely work you need to address the lifestyle and in that case "cognitive behavioural therapy" would be more appropriate.
It is far from this simple though what you have is a complex milieu of intertwining between genes and the environment throughout a person's life. It may well be a traumatic childhood has led a person to take a different genetic growth route they wouldn't have had without that abuse, a person was genetically susceptible anyway, someone lost their job and spouse and then a pattern develops etc.
So the long and short of it is depression is a set of symptoms rather than a discrete entity therefore out ability to treat those symptoms will depend on what the symptoms are and the causation was. Depending on that different things will have different success rates.
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this kind of makes sense, but again leads me back to, is the a clear difference between someone having a rough time and feeling emotionally low, or someone having depression?
Yeah they do make a big effort beetween the two, trust me. Its GP first, then they will talk to you about it and they may run the blood panels to check for any anomalies that could explain it (i.e. seratonin low levels, low vit D, etc). Then they ask you about your environment, life changes etc (this is to rule out a change in circumstances making you feel low, etc). You dont get diagnosed lightly i guess
Well this depends on the causation again. Yes people may believe they play the card to quickly however like you say it is not quite a spectrum but something not too dissimilar. What you have to appreciate though if you are going to knock doctors for instantly diagnosing is that there is the potential that if not treated in the short-term that things will evolve and become untreatable, increase the likelihood of further complications, etc. What we are discovering now is that out brains our developing throughout our life not just to a pattern but to environmental influence on that pattern. It is all rather fascinating.
For example, moving away from depression and into areas I am more interested in you can see definite brain development along lines you would not expect in children who have suffered from abuse. Now imagine a developing brain bathed in a hormonal mix. Would it not be advantageous for that brain to develop aggressive tendancies if it is bathed in stress hormones - that way children born into conflict will be prepared for conflict they also would not need so much in the way of empathy in fact that would be advantageous. So in a competitive environment with stress we would have children develop with poorer social skills, lacking in empathy, more active and aggressive etc. You can quite easily extrapolate the same process across all behaviour. Interesting work has recently been done and is being done in playing violent games where we can quite clearly show children who play violent games do have enlarged aggression centres in the brain but conversely their normal lives mean that the socialisation centres are also more developed and therefore counter-balance each other with everything else being equal. It is all rather interesting like I say. We are finally understanding how the brain works and just as a last aside we are also now discovering that it is not just the brain where these processes are decided.
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Yeah they do make a big effort beetween the two, trust me. Its GP first, then they will talk to you about it and they may run the blood panels to check for any anomalies that could explain it (i.e. seratonin low levels, low vit D, etc). Then they ask you about your environment, life changes etc (this is to rule out a change in circumstances making you feel low, etc). You dont get diagnosed lightly i guess
ok, again, this point interests me. the people i know that claim to be 'depressed' to me dont seem to be anything other than living a poor lifestyle (council house, no job.....) and seem to be given 'happy pills'. which then lead me to think that maybe doctors were a bit quick to get someone in and out. but then maybe i do know people that have jobs, their own house etc but dont go round telling everyone they are depressed.
at the moment i am going through a tough time, and it has been said that i 'appear' depressed. but i dont feel like im medically ill, i just feel that with everything going on in my life at the moment im on a low. therefore believe that once i sort out where my head is at, i will pick up again without the need of doctors etc.
whereas i believe there are certain people suffer from some chemical/hormone inbalance which no matter what would never get their head right without intervention from a doc/psychiatrist.
so i guess that would mean i believe in a clear difference between being emotionally low and being depressed.
ok, again very interesting. can a miss diagnosis be harmful long term?
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Well this comes to a diagnosis based upon a set of symptoms in this case observations and patient statements along with any supplementary lab tests or scans you can perform. Naturally the more stuff you find wrong the harder it is going to be to treat if you can. But yes you can differentiate when you diagnoses as part of the questions revolve around exploring that but it does not mean either is more debilitating that the other. And that someone who is having a rough time and is feeling emotionally low may well be depressed. I would wager someone who lost their house, family and job in the space of a day would be in a worse place that any amount of organic genetic abnormalities life could throw at you.
This is not something that can be determined on the forums it however can be determined by your GP
The reason people are put on medicines is because the wait for CBT is generally long because the government refuses to support the services that are required.
A mis-diagnosis of anything could cause problems, but thats the risk anyone takes. I dont know if this is allowed or not, but pharmacologically, there are over the counter things you can take for depression (that can help). The obvious one is St Johns Wort, but then there is also something called 5-HTP (which is a legal seratonin inhibitor). Definitely check with your doctor before taking either though. They are both available over the counter from H&B.
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This is not something that can be determined on the forums it however can be determined by your GP
The reason people are put on medicines is because the wait for CBT is generally long because the government refuses to support the services that are required.
yeh i wasnt looking for a diagnosis. i am happy within myself that the problem will go away. it just made me think if there was a clear distinction and whether it was becoming too easy to get miss-diagnosed as with the way things are at the moment, im sure there are a lot of people that feeling low and possibly display symptoms of depression.