Depression TedTalk

[Mishelle]

I found this very interesting and thought others might too

 

http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_solomon_depression_the_secret_we_share.html?awesm=on.ted.com_thWC&utm_content=awesm-publisher&utm_campaign=&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=on.ted.com-twitter

 

 

 

[J-William]

I find much of what he says to be problematic, or at least... useless.

 

He at no point mentions childhood... which is rather a bit of an oversight when adverse childhood experiences are the leading cause of depression. 

 

He calls depression "much too much grief at far too slight a cause."... yeah it seems that way, but he's trying to give some insight into depression and he talks as though depression just hits people at random or people are just moody teenagers who don't know how good they have it and don't have anything to "really" be depressed about.

 

and he talks about the depressed lady with 7 kids as though getting a job and leaving her asshole husband for the loving arms of the government was the way to solve all her problems... I mean come on   

[JamesP]

I'll have to watch the video for myself, but if he is actually defining depression as "much too much grief at far too slight a cause," then it's pretty clear he hasn't bothered to investigate it beyond its appearances.

 

My experience of depression was that of emotional paralysis, which is the sort of thing that doesn't just appear out of nowhere.

[Prairie]

And one of the things that often gets lost in discussions of depression is that you know it's ridiculous. You know it's ridiculous while you're experiencing it. You know that most people manage to listen to their messages and eat lunch and organize themselves to take a shower and go out the front door and that it's not a big deal, and yet you are nonetheless in its grip and you are unable to figure out any way around it. [...]But I nonetheless emerged and relapsed, and emerged and relapsed, and emerged and relapsed, and finally understood I would have to be on medication and in therapy forever. [...]But the truth lies. I became obsessed with that sentence: "But the truth lies." And I discovered, as I talked to depressive people, that they have many delusional perceptions. People will say, "No one loves me." And you say, "I love you, your wife loves you, your mother loves you." You can answer that one pretty readily, at least for most people.

He sees depression as an unwanted distraction from his conscious-driven life, from doing the things that he thinks he should be able to do like other apparently-content people. He wants to get around it. He sees it as something which warps his sense of reality, upsets his idea that people around him love him. He is sure that he loves his friends and if they don't think so, they're deluded.

[Libertarian Prepper]

I'll have to watch the video for myself, but if he is actually defining depression as "much too much grief at far too slight a cause," then it's pretty clear he hasn't bothered to investigate it beyond its appearances.

 

My experience of depression was that of emotional paralysis, which is the sort of thing that doesn't just appear out of nowhere.

Oh my god, you just blew my mind! "Depression as emotional paralysis" feels like SUCH an accurate description. How come I didn't think of that before?

 

This might really help me look into dealing with my depression when it comes around. Thank you!

 

edit: And this really makes sense - when I'm depressed I essentially lose any motivation to do things or live my life. That is to say, the why of my life, which lives in my emotions, disappears. Harry Browne writes about the "Intellectual Trap", which is where someone loses track of their emotions and hence they have the "what" but not the "why" and can no longer enjoy life.

 

edit 2: And then it would make sense that this emotional blockage is probably caused by a self-defense mechanism - parts of my mind are being shut off from my conscious to prevent an overwhelming by my emotions and traumas, but the side-effect of this blockage is a loss of motivation and will to live - i.e. depression.