Hi Audrey: I can remember sitting in front of our Christmas
tree with the family I loved and feeling as if I were dead
inside...Clinical depression is a devastating illness and I
get furious when I feel it's trivialized. Ten years later,
still taking my anti-depressant, battling PD, Crohn's, my
husband's illness, etc. at least I feel alive. God knows,
not every day's a good one, but I have regained the
capacity for happiness and for that I am grateful.   Carole

--- Audrey <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Right on carole you have seen the pit as I have too ..
> isnt it odd that
> those who usually write about this condition have no idea
> how it is to be
> that way?  When I was diagnosed, the difference between
> depression and *
> being blue* was described to me as this:  Take the worst
> time or day you
> have ever had and magnify this by 1000 that is close to
> clinical depression.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Carole Hercun <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2000 4:40 PM
> Subject: Re: NEWS: Viewing Depression as Tool for
> Survival
>
>
> > Hi janet marie: Do you think any of the people quoted
> here
> > have ever traveled the nine circles leading to the Hell
>  of
> > full-blown Clinical Depression? Been there, done that.
> And
> > it takes more than happy thoughts and good intentions
> to
> > drag you back to any semblance of sanity. Sure, one's
> > environment, stressors, etc. affect depression, but the
> > point they're missing is that it DOESN'T MATTER what
> caused
> > the condition, what you are treating is a biological
> > illness, and while psychotherapy is enlightening and
> > productive (this is the testimony of a long time psych
> > nurse AND the recipient of more years of therapy than I
> > care to divulge), the cure involves medication.
> Depression
> > IS NOT comparable to diarrhea. It is insane not to
> treat it
> > when we have the cure.
> >                           Carole
> > --- janet marie paterson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > > February 1, 2000
> > >
> > > Viewing Depression as Tool for Survival
> > >
> > > The case, Dr. Randolph M. Nesse said, does not fit
> tidily
> > > with the view that depression is only a matter of
> > > disordered brain chemicals:
> > >
> > > A woman sought help from a psychiatric clinic because
> she
> > > was desperately depressed. She had dedicated five
> years
> > > to becoming a professional musician, despite her
> > > teachers' admonitions that she lacked the talent to
> > > succeed. She persisted, the woman said, because it
> was
> > > her mother's dream for her.
> > >
> > > The psychiatrists at the clinic treated her with a
> > > variety of antidepressant medications and with
> > > psychotherapy. Nothing helped. But when, one day, the
> > > woman reached a decision, giving up music in favor of
> a
> > > career more suited to her abilities, her depression
> > > lifted.
> > >
> > > Dr. Nesse, director of the Evolution and Human
> Adaptation
> > > program at the University of Michigan's Institute for
> > > Social Research, collects many such cases (the
> details
> > > are altered to protect patients' identities) because
> he
> > > believes they offer clues to a deeper understanding
> of
> > > depression.
> > >
> > > In a recent article in the journal Archives of
> General
> > > Psychiatry, Dr. Nesse argued that while some forms of
> > > depression were clearly a result of genetic
> vulnerability
> > > and brain abnormality, others might have their roots
> in
> > > evolutionary history.
> > >
> > > Darwinian theory holds that evolution selects for
> > > fitness: organisms with traits that promote survival
> or
> > > reproduction pass on their genes; organisms without
> such
> > > traits die off.
> > >
> > > Depression may have developed, Dr. Nesse suggested,
> as a
> > > useful response to situations in which a desired goal
> is
> > > unattainable, or, as he has put it, "when one of
> life's
> > > path peters out into the woods."
> > >
> > > Locked in pursuit of the impossible, it makes sense
> for
> > > an animal to hunker down, take stock and figure out
> what
> > > to do next, Dr. Nesse said. In some cases, depression
> may
> > > help a person disengage from what has proved a
> hopeless
> > > effort; in other cases, it may protect the person
> from
> > > jumping ship too rashly, perhaps landing in even less
> > > hospitable seas.
> > >
> > > "If I had to put my position in a nutshell," he said,
> > > "I'd say that mood exists to regulate investment
> > > strategies, so that we spend more time on things that
> > > work, and less time on things that don't."
> > >
> > > In some respects, Dr. Nesse's conception echoes that
> of
> > > the psychoanalyst Dr. Emmy Gut. In a 1989 book
> > > "Productive and Unproductive Depression" (Basic
> Books),
> > > Dr. Gut described, among other cases, the experience
> of a
> > > biochemist, Albert, who frequently became depressed
> when
> > > a research strategy he was pursuing went nowhere.
> When
> > > the feelings of despair passed, he said, he saw "an
> > > entirely different way to tackle the problem, or
> else, I
> > > have recognized that the project was unrealistic."
> > >
> > > In an interview, Dr. Gut, who lives in Sweden, said:
> "I
> > > think that depression is a normal mechanism. It's an
> > > attempt toward adaptation to a problem."
> > >
> > > Dr. Nesse and Dr. Gut are not the first to ponder
> what
> > > evolutionary function depression -- and its close
> > > relative, sadness or low mood -- might serve.
> Thinkers
> > > from Schopenhauer to Freud have offered their views.
> Over
> > > the years, scientists have speculated variously that
> > > depression represents a plea for help, a strategy for
> > > manipulating others into providing resources, a
> signal of
> > > submission or yielding in conflict, or a way to
> conserve
> > > an organism's energy and resources in hard times.
> > >
> > > Other investigators see no point in viewing
> depression as
> > > anything other than a malfunction of brain chemicals.
> > >
> > > Dr. Nesse, however, is one of a growing number of
> > > scientists who over the past decade have
> systematically
> > > tried to bring a Darwinian perspective to medicine,
> > > hoping to learn more about how evolution has shaped
> > > humans' vulnerability to disease.
> > >
> > > The approach is yielding a richer understanding of
> > > illness, and in particular, is helping scientists
> > > distinguish between diseases and medical conditions
> that
> > > developed as defenses against other more serious
> threats
> > > to survival.
> > >
> > > Coughing, for example, is not a disease in itself but
> is
> > > the body's attempt to rid itself of bacteria in the
> > > lungs. Diarrhea and vomiting, though unpleasant, also
> > > serve as defenses, evolving as ways to evade danger,
> and
> > > thus to preserve fitness. And the ability to feel
> pain is
> > > essential for an organism's survival. "People who are
> > > born without any capacity to feel pain are usually
> dead
> > > by early adulthood," Dr. Nesse said.
> > >
> > > Similarly, emotions like anxiety, fear and depression
> can
> > > be viewed as defensive strategies. Such defenses make
> > > sense, Dr. Nesse noted, because they have a low cost,
> > > especially when compared with their potential for
> > > protection. Vomiting, for instance, involves only the
> > > loss of few hundred calories, but might save an
> animal's
> > > life if the substance ingested is poisonous. In the
> same
>
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