Observations on Depression

Francis W. Porretto, in a rather lengthy post at Eternity Road, had this to say about the subject of depression:

I don't watch a lot of television -- sporting events, mostly, and almost always with a book in my hands -- but I've seen a certain commercial far too frequently not to take notice: a pseudo-public-service-pitch about depression. The thrust of these spots is to get people who are having a blue day or week to see a doctor and get some palliative drug. They make no mention of what depression, one of the most frequently abused words in the English language, really is: a reduction in emotional responsiveness.

Depression is not melancholy. It is not irritability or upset. It's a temporary insusceptibility to being prodded. Calluses over one's emotional nerve clusters, if you will. Calluses grow in response to irritation; increased irritation, for instance from someone misguidedly trying to poke a depressive out of his state, only makes them thicker.

Owing to our hyper-therapeutic culture, most people have the exact wrong ideas about depression. Here are a few facts:

Depression is not lethal. [Editorial note: I don't agree with this statement, having known too many people who killed themselves while in the depths of depression.]
It has no consequences that engender increased risks to the sufferer. [Actually, it can affect any organ or system of the body.]
It used to be called "moodiness."
It is always temporary, and usually brief. [That may be, but Americans are more impatient than ever about putting up with any kind of pain, and want a quick fix.]
The most effective treatment for it is letting the sufferer be.
The least effective treatment for it is nagging.
Most important of all, it is far more often than not a rational response to being pestered or overburdened -- quite literally a survival reaction to certain kinds and amounts of stress. [It could also be a symptom of something much larger, or even a side-effect of a medication prescribed by a psychiatrist!]

I wrote in to say:

Thank you for reminding me to get some more pills to lower my blood pressure. ;-)

I have been dogged by depression all my life, and am aware of its effect on the rest of my health. But I have come to regard it as God’s way of hitting me on my thick head with a 4x4 and telling me in no uncertain terms that I have limitations, need to slow down, and learn some humility.

This flies in the face of an entire library of self-help books, but I am optimistic most of the time despite their advice. There are times I would love to look someone in the eye and shout, “DON’T tell me what kind of day to have!!!” Human potential is wonderful, but not limitless. The universe, for all practical purposes, is infinite, and so is the liberal’s faith in Americans’ willingness to accept more and more taxes. There is no limit to human stupidity or the ambition of bureaucrats to grow and increase the budgets of their operations. But for the rest of us mortals, we have to do the best we can with what we have.

As Americans we have the right to pursue happiness, but the fact is, there is NO GUARANTEE that will will find it. At least we are ahead of those countries that don’t give their subjects even that basic right.

Posted by Bloodthirsty Warmonger (url) on 07/15/2008 at 01:42 PM