A beautiful and brave post- thank you, Francis. It is interesting to think of my mother and her peers who were so tight-lipped about this subject and "airing the family dirty linens"- she went shopping and shopping and shopping! They eventually paid for their repression with ill-health.
The sacrament of Confession wasn't such a bad idea to unload ones sins and begin anew. I have dabbled only to find the sentence(s) that propelled action or change. I dislike any rx and alcohol took a dislike to me. Modern life has enough leisure to allow us the luxury/hell of self- analysis. I think we live in a self-help glut of books and experts. Advice is cheap. On Mar 3, 12:11 pm, frantheman <[email protected]> wrote: > Starting with Lehrer's article and going on with some excellent > thoughtful contributions here, this thread has the potential to become > something very good. > > I believe that a danger in dealing with the subject of "depression" is > that there are many different modes of melancholy, many different > causes and, consequently. many different ways of treating/dealing with/ > living with/learning from/transcending it. > > There's evidence for neuro-biochemical foundations for particular > depressive states, having generally (much simplified here!) to do with > the neurotransmitter serotonin. This is the level at which many of the > current pharmaceutical "treatments" kick in. The question which can > often be asked is whether a chemical club ameliorates a particular > symptomatic which is actually a signal for something else. In a > society which believes in quick fixes, the immediate recourse to pills > is prevelant and, I suspect, frequently shortsighted. > > That said, I know that chronic, deep depression is something awful and > - ultimately - pathological. In such cases, medication may be > absolutely necessary. The inability to have any experience of joy in > life over a longer period is for me the best definition of hell I can > come up with (and I don't need any supernatural categories for it). To > experience one's life as continuously completely dreary and futile, to > feel that the effort of just getting out of bed at some stage of the > day takes more energy than one has available, to see one's own > existence as a uselessly complicating factor for others so that the > whole world would be better if one simply ceased to exist ... I've > been there. I never want to go back there. I've known many others who > have suffered terribly, and one of my best friends killed himself > because - after many years, and all sorts of treatments and therapies > - he just couldn't stand it any more. > > I came out of that particular horror - with some pharmaceutical help, > but more fundamentally because I got the professional support > necessary to look at the contradictions within myself, to realise how > I had self-limited the options and possibilites in fact open to me > and, in my particular case, because I learned to recognise, accept, > embrace and integrate some darker parts of my personality. So for me, > in the end, through all the suffering and pain, it was an occasion of > growth. > > As in so many things, in the case of fundamental mental/psychological > states, we are constantly tempted to look for simple definitions and > easy remedies. But, as Oscar Wilde once observed, "the truth is rarely > pure and never simple." > > Francis > > On 3 Mrz., 00:01, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > One of the most challenging aspects of studying depression is the vast > > amount of contradiction in the literature. Virtually every claim comes > > with a contradictory claim, which is also supported by evidence. I > > tend to believe this confusion will persist until our definitions of > > depression become more precise, so that intense sadness and > > paralyzing, chronic, suicidal despair are no longer lumped together in > > the same psychiatric category. (Lehrer) > > > I've been 'depressed' since middle teenage, with some bouts of > > clinical depression, partly associated with trauma. I've had some > > periods I'd call madness, and though I have never done anything > > 'serious' have found myself out of control at times in some sort of > > desperate way. I can claim some fairly good achievements in such > > periods, but mostly they are debilitating rather than manic periods. > > I'm coming out of difficult times at the moment and am almost > > 'champing at the bit', but really screwed by being physically crook. > > I'm about to force myself to write and 'get straight' and just > > beginning to feel it will work. Lehrer may help - the blog is good. > > > On 2 Mar, 01:41, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Hi Rigsby, > > > Slip and I have been tangentially discussing this in the Robert > > > Thurman post. We both want to digest it and come back here for > > > discussion. Very interesting. > > > > On 28 Feb, 03:00, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > I meant to respond sooner Riggers, but was too depressed! True > > > > sadly! There is little not to be depressed about in contemplation of > > > > the human condition. I would like to believe that a world more > > > > engaged with truth and knowledge would help prevent this, but know > > > > many people who don't want to contemplate reality because it is too > > > > painful. > > > > > On 27 Feb, 13:18, rigsy03 <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > "Depression's Upside" By Jonah Lehrer > > > > > http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/magazine/28depression-t.html- Hide > > > > > quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en.
