Depression

Most mental illnesses are rare. Psychosis is seen in less than 1% of the population. Depression is the exception. Roughly 10% of us will get depressed this year. Virtually all of us get depressed from time to time.

The latest research suggests that depression may not be caused by some malfunction in the brain, that it may actually be a very positive response to the situation one finds oneself in. Depressed people tend to focus on their problems, largely ignoring the rest of what is going on around them. This intense focus of mental energy may be helpful in solving and recovering from the problems one is facing. This view is somewhat controversial.

High fevers help the body's white blood cells fight off invading pathogens, so immediately taking an aspirin any time one has a fever in order to reduce the excessive temperature might even be harmful. The same logic can be applied to depression. If one is depressed because one has recently undergone a very negative divorce, or the death of one's child, or if one is depressed because you have lost your job, this intense focusing of the mind's thought processes on the problems at hand may increase one's ability to solve the problems one is facing, and thus improve the likelihood of survival. This makes one question the advisability of taking mood improving drugs whenever one is feeling a bit blue.

This logic becomes harder to justify when one looks at late life depression, or the depression which is so common among people who are dying. One also has to question the logic of this idea when one is dealing with a single parent whose severe depression is causing them to largely ignore their child care duties and responsibilities.

Depressive episodes may not be fun, but they certainly do improve results. According to recent research reported in the New York Times, people who have been successful in their careers are are eight times as likely to suffer from depression as the general population.

This is a fairly in depth article. It is not just a few quick sound bites. But considering how common depression is in society I recommend this article highly.

LINK: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/magazine/28depression-t.html?pagewanted=all

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