Charting the Depths

Depression is indeed "tough nut to crack". Personally, I'm skeptical that an emotional problem will ever be remedied with a chemical treatment only. The "residual" aspects of depression stem from residual cognitive and emotional habits and patterns. Change the thinking; change the mood.
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As a sufferer of depression, I agree with the title that we need better care.

I personally feel that to cure depression, the people around the sufferer are also crucial to the effectiveness of treatment. They need to understand that genuine concern is what we need. It is not simply a matter of trying to lift the spirits of the depressed, but to truly understand the cause(s) behind the individual's depression and tackle the root of the problem. Support is what gives strength.

I also agree with Keith that the individual is also responsible for what he/she is feeling.

My psychiatrist refuses to prescribe anti-depressants unless absolutely necessary. Though I did not ask for her reasons, I believe that, perhaps, it has to do with the reasons mentioned above.

I am a smart person with numerous advanced degrees from good schools, yet when I teach at schools with much lower academic rankings (not even in the same league or leagues in the same state) I do not get respect like I should. It is like the bank teller at Citibank giving financial advice to Sandy Weill. Or the manicurist telling Sandy Weill he'll never be a successful CEO if he doesn't get a pedicure every week. People say random things to me that have nothing to do with being succesful in my field, and even worse than the random bits of nonsensical advice, they are flat out rude, cruel, bullying. Like the security guard who frisks Sandy Weill every time he goes up to his office in GM even after Sandy Weill shows the guard his ID card. It's humiliation without purpose or sense. These schools would have been much better off if they had hired someone with my background but instead they elect to subvert their own interests and subvert their own mission in the name of what????????? mediocrity? stupidity? cruelty????????????

Maybe, just once, maybe the bank teller could say to Sandy Weill, "Wow, you're like much richer than I am and you built Citibank up from the ground, so I respect you." Maybe someone could say to me "your background is terrific and we could use someone like you on our team," instead of telling me a pedicure is the key to financial success. Hey Random People who are cruel without cause, rude without cause, and embrace mediocrity, get lost.

It's 2010, not 1980. Come on people, do your homework. Depression is not an emotional illness.

Depression is a brain disorder that affects one's emotions. Dr. Rottenberg, happy is not the opposite of depressed. Sadness is not depression. Shame on you.

If your dog dies you are sad, not depressed. Movies are not depressing.

A person who is not depressed is termed euthymic.

Problems of living do not cause Depression. People who consistently make poor life decisions are very likely to be sad or chronically anxious, but not Depressed.

Read up. It's 2010!

Physical causes of depression include low omega3, high omega6, low vitamin D, low thyroid which can be caused by low iodine (15% of Americans are iodine deficient) or auto-immune reactions to grains legumes or dairy, etc.

The modern American diet is making us depressed while it causes obesity, diabetes, acne, heart disease, cancer, etc. And don't forget that those health problems themselves are enough to make you depressed!

Physical causes of depression include low omega3, high omega6, low vitamin D, low thyroid which can be caused by low iodine (15% of Americans are iodine deficient) or auto-immune reactions to grains legumes or dairy, etc.

The modern American diet is making us depressed while it causes obesity, diabetes, acne, heart disease, cancer, etc. And don't forget that those health problems themselves are enough to make you depressed!

I have suffered with major depression for over 20 years. It ebbs and flows, has peaks and valleys. When you are in the throws of a depressive episode it is so easy to give up and be hopeless. No one who has never suffered from this disease knows how truly painful (physically and emotionally) this disease is. It is one of the top causes people claim to get disability benefits. The side effects and long term effects of the newer SSRI's are frightening. But what choice is there? I take my meds religously, I attend psychotherapy regularly and have for years. At some point you make peace with your past and work and work and work on cognitive distortions, but the depression lingers. God, I agree with Dr. Rottenberg. We need to find more effective treatments for this illness that sucks the very life out of you as surely as cancer does.

I don't think depression compares to the stress cancer patients have. I've suffered from depression for years as well, yet with cancer it's like facing your own mortality.

The stress of depression? A lot of people with depression want to die... It's so hard, it's so painful, they want to die... What disease is so tough that you really want to die, that people really commit suicide? Is cancer so hard that you want to really, really want to die?
It's not a solution to compare 2 serious diseases, like cancer and depression (depression that comes and goes... and comes again... again and again) You won't help people who suffer of cancer or depression or another serious illness by comparing and telling they are 'lucky', because the other illness, depression or cancer, is more stressfull. Both are having serious trouble, both are suffering... So the only right thing to do is telling they have the right to feel bad, because they are really feeling miserable.

The article here... It's really nice to read that there are people who realise that depression isn't as treatable as a lot of people say or write... Everywhere, you read: 'depression is a highly treatable illness (with CBT)'... Even psychologists tell and write this. But it's wrong: +/- 50% of the people who had 1 episode will have another one (even with therapy like CBT)! And the more episodes, the greater the chance they will have a new one: so after 3 episodes, you're almost sure you'll have another one (some day, and hopefully, a day far in the future). It's time that the lies of 'a highly treatable illness' disappear. Because, if you have a recidivism, now, people think you don't want to be better! It's 'highly treatable (with CBT)', in their eyes.
And I don't understand why these lies still continue... So it's really a relief to read this article here...

I think part of the reason that depression treatment is variable is the obvious patient openness and willingness and the professionals skill/knowledge. But also the fact that many people are depressed and dont' realize it or are treated for depression when the true cause may be something different or be one of many coexisting problems. If people who read the blog (who are intrested in psychology and relatively educated) can't agree on a definition for depression or what is or is not depression, its no wonder that the general public has misconceptions.