Posted by TV on September 26, 1999, at 21:29:53
In reply to This Thing Called Depression, posted by Joe Mechanic on September 25, 1999, at 13:08:33
I'm going to cut to the chase... I think Joe Mechanic is dead wrong regarding what depression "is". First of all, it isn't the brain that gets depressed, its the mind. Life experience (usually adverse) and personality are the building blocks of depression. The resulting pain and illness is caused by blockages of energy along the meridian paths in the body...and the mind. I do agree that something does happen to the hardware in the brain, but I don't believe it starts with a "brain gone wrong". I believe this to be true with all mental illness, just my view on the chicken vs. the egg theory of all mental illness. Some illness' are just more devestating and chronic than others. I do agree with Joe M's assessment of society in general. People that have never been depressed don't have a clue (generally speaking), and never will. And the reason society will never understand is because at the most basic level society is to blame for mental illness. You may ask how? The shame factor. The most difficult thing to
admit about mental illness is that you have a problem with your emotions. This is especially true in our wonderful country. In some wierd way I believe its one of the prices we pay to live "our way of life". We cover up how we truly feel about everything. Think about your everyday life...we all seem to be acting in a play. And some people fall victim in the play. The victim then begins to push his/her bad feelings even deeper, something thats never been proven to work. Pushing dirt under the rug just makes the rug lumpier. Pretty soon the mind has to be " cleansed".
Incidentally, I'm not against AD's and meds in general. I just classify them as painkillers, like alot of other medicines taken to treat a malady. Its just alot more difficult to make medicine that "fixes" a deficiency in your brain, when its your mind that needs attention, compassion, and healing.
One more thing. I really, really hate to say this...but, Joe's analogy is so well scripted that I suspect he (she?, can't take anything for granted, you know) is a representative from a drug company. I hope to God I'm wrong. There. I've come completely clean with my feelings. First time today...
> Your car engine is running rough (symbolically the same as depression). The cause is a crack in the outer layer of a sparkplug wire, allowing sparks to shoot out at random and never reach the sparkplug (symbolically the same as neurotransmitter malfunction in the brain). We can do many things to improve the car's performance. New spark plugs, adjust air/fuel mixture, adjust ignition timing (symbolically the same as counseling and psychotherapy). They help improve the rough-running engine, but they don't address the underlying deficiency. It is still below its "normal" potential. We can try a new paint job, shiney hubcaps, surround-sound CD player, plush seats, high-tech fuel additive (symbolically the same as improved lifestyle, improved coping abilities). But no matter how hard we push the gas pedal, the car is incapable of performing "normally". That damn wire.
>
> To fix it we need to replace the wire with a new one. Symbolically we can't replace parts of the brain. But we can work with them to repair them. We could wrap the cracked sparkplug wire with lots of electrical tape (symbolically the same as an antidepressant). Now the engine runs smooth. It is "normal". It is firing on all cylinders. All the other stuff...paint job, CD player, etc...is icing on the cake.
>
> Hi. My name is Joe Mechanic. I suffer from lifelong depression. I am amazed at how "normal" people think depression is just a matter of willpower, attitude, lifestyle, diet, pulling oneself together, getting a grip, coming to terms, getting over it. I use the malfunctioning auto example when needed to defend myself from the skeptical onslaught of psychotherapy proponents, pharmacology skeptics, disbelieving friends and family, and the "normal" who just don't, can't, get it. A typical response is dumbfounded silence. I can see in their faces that for the first time ever they can actually grasp an understanding of the physical nature of depression. The stigma and misunderstanding of the physical nature of depression is staggering.
>
> Why do so many think the brain is immune from malfunction? Kidneys malfunction. As do livers, thyroids, stomachs, skin, bones, blood, eyes,...and...brains. Can someone fix their depressed liver function with willpower? Would coming to terms with childhood trauma mend an eye? Why is it that the brain can supposedly be fixed with talk, attitude, exercise, lifestyle? Can't fix a kidney that way. Can't fix leukemia that way. Can't willpower a cancer away. I submit that our best efforts can certainly improve our faulty conditions. But unless we can fix the condition,improvement is limited and potential will remain below normal.
>
> Back to the car, we improved it greatly, but we didn't fix it. Till we mended the wire. Then it was "normal". What is normal? Not being chronically depressed is normal. Having a bad day when something bad happens is normal. Having a good day when something good happens is normal. Having endless bad days no matter what happens is not normal. When all the paint jobs and overhauls and new tires only marginally improve a car, we can restore it to normal by servicing the core problem. Fix the deficiency. A bad paint job didn't cause the engine to act depressed. It was just a slightly faulty electrical system. No matter what else we do, the car will always be less than it's normal potential till that damn faulty sparkplug wire is treated.
>
> Credit is due all here who engage in good counsel, good lifestyle. These obvisouly bring improvement. A nice new paint job. But it doesn't repair that broken wire. Not in the eye, the bones, the kidneys, or....the brain. Credit is even more due those attempting to fix the core problem. Antidepressants. I applaud all here who recognize that the brain is an organ like any other, and when it malfunctions it manifests itself in behavior. I applaud the strength and determination of those who struggle with their drugs to eventually fix the real problem. Sometimes it's not as easy as trying the first roll of electrical tape we can find. But the right kind of tape does exist. The wire can be fixed.
>
> What if we wrap electrical tape around a good sparkplug wire? Nothing. Nothing was wrong in the first place. What happens if someone "normal" takes an antidepressant? Nothing. Nothing was wrong in the first place. (Well, they would get some side effects probably) That antidepressants actually work is proof positive that a physical organic malfunction was at fault. Again, other things improved the condition, but didn't fix it.
>
> So no matter what we do...paint job, tires, CD player, willpower, gasoline, yoga, climbing mountains, standing on our heads, whatever... any improvement will always be less than normal potential till the underlying malfuction is treated. Now, let's assume we've repaired that wire. We've found an AD that works and we can tolerate. The wire no longer misfires. Ok. Keep that electrical tape applied. Dont' want the same problem to return.
>
> Now, let's take our nice normal car with its nice normal sparkplug wire and its nice new normal paint job for a nice normal drive on a nice normal country road and have a nice normal day.
poster:TV
thread:12034
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990914/msgs/12098.html