Posted by dj on August 7, 2000, at 19:43:20
Anyone read this book? Came across it when researching another book on amazon.com. Looks fascinating. I'm just going to copy a bif of the commentary from there on it. For more, get thee to Amazon or the bookstore.
From Kirkus Reviews
A provocative, poetic foray into melancholia from both a personal and historical perspective. While working as a psychiatric caseworker in Missoula, Minn., first-time author Smith is thrust into a depression that even the newest antidepressants cant alleviate. In attempting to understand his melancholia, Smith researches this mystifying condition, which continues to afflict people worldwide.
Regardless of how it originates, concludes Smith, clinical depression results from biochemical changes in the brain. And half of those with one episode relapse within 18 months, while some will be plagued by depression for life.
Smith is particularly effective in describing his own depression, when everyday details overwhelm him and his only company is ``Mr. Shoulder,'' who monitors his every thought and mood to the point of paralyzing him. He writes ``that my life felt distant even to me.''
Also intriguing is Smiths chronicle of societys changing views of depression. In Renaissance Europe, in Elizabethan England, and to the 19th-century Romantics in Germany and Great Britain, depressive illness was deemed a great gift. People even feigned melancholia, because it was considered an experience that deepened and enriched ones soul.
With our societys emphasis on productivity, depression is regarded as an unwelcome intrusion that is costly to corporate America. The contemporary solution is a quick fix that allows expedient return to the marketplace. And its this quick chemical fix that troubles Smith.
Only when he abandons medication and allows his illness to awaken him spiritually and metaphysically does he conquer his depression. Smith continues to take jobs to help others with psychological problems and brain injuries, and is critical of patients families ``who preferred the memory [of the victim when healthy] to the present reality[and whose] spouses had all filed for divorce.'' Brimming with insight and intelligence, an endearing memoir. (Author tour) -- Copyright (c)1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved
.........
Adds to a growing list of compassionate books on depression, November 22, 1999Reviewer: A reader from princeton, new jersey
The author, thankfully, recognizes that clinical depression, having a low-key or melancholic personality, or having a reason to be down in spirits, are different.
As a cognitive psycholgist, I interact with people in their day-to-day work environment, and I find that lately we too freely call persons depressed when they may only be sad/angry because of something haunting them in the past or concerning them about the future (they need to talk about it), or when it is just their nature to look on the grim side of things (they need to have their outlook accepted and appreciated), or when they have learned that being sad is a protective mechanism against disappointment or cruelty (they need to be comforted).
These are natural manifestations of natural human emotions, and they should never be medicated out of existence or forced out of existence by our modern, ebullient, and shallow society. Nor should natural personality traits be labeled as mental illness either.
However, clinical depression needs to be addressed as well. From my experiences, some of those who are mildly clinically depressed may heal naturally given time, rest, emotional support, good nutrition, regular exercise, and fresh air, as well as something to be hopeful or happy about, which is a motivator toward wellness. The worst thing about being clinically depressed is the sense that you are all alone, and so depressed persons need compassionate (not forced) inclusion in caring society, as this author supports.
I haven't finished the book yet prior to writing this review, so I don't know if the author has a chance to talk about some irritants that can cause seemingly untreatable depression -- not just medical conditions like glucose-intolerance, anemia, or thyroid activity, but we have published findings on chemical fumes in poorly ventilated industrial environments or at home from man-made materials (plastic items, rugs), questions about chemical leeching from plastic containers like soda bottles, or concerns about our air quality and nutritional content of foods. Food allergies, which many medical professionals refuse to accept, can also be culprits (an astoundingly fabulous book about this, available through amazon, is IS THIS YOUR CHILD? by Rapp).
There is a reason why we get depressed, and if it is a biological discrepancy (profound sadness or lack of motivation which lasts too long, or sadness with no basis), we need to find what it is rather than try to erase it with a pill (medication doesn't always work in the long run). However, if we are sad by nature or cirumstance, I agree with the author that that is no reason to classify us and medicate us. In the book, the author is a pioneer in supporting a traditional attitude that has fallen out of favor -- being kind enough to accept yourself as you are, to accept that what you feel may be natural and right. What a wonderful idea, in our technological society, to say that emotions are okay to feel."
Bang on!!
Sante!
dj
poster:dj
thread:42352
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000729/msgs/42352.html