Posted by IsoM on January 14, 2002, at 12:48:43
In reply to Re: all these posts hit home -bob, mr. scott, posted by cindylou on January 14, 2002, at 6:19:45
< < "Can chemical imbalances in the brain that cause depression actually be reversed through cognitive and behavioral changes?"
Cindy, for the original posts about ADs losing their effectiveness, I have nothing of value to offer, but there is somewhat of an answer to your question above.
People sometimes forget that a person, as a whole, is an intricately woven whole composed of many physical chemical systems (endocrine, immune, neural, etc) reacting to our environment. You can't separate one system from the other & study how it works without realising that one always affects the others. And the more scientists learn about the body, the more we learn how much each system affects the other.
We were MEANT to react & adapt to our environment. One of the most obvious examples of our environment affecting our body as a whole is what we remove from our environment & put into our body as food. We need to eat to survive & we need to eat healthy to thrive. (No, this isn't a thread about nutrition - just an example.)
Our environment can influence how we feel both physically & mentally/emotionally. That's why psychologists will expose someone to a phobia or fear, bit by bit & by conditioning them, have it change their reactions. It's completely an outside influence - no drugs, but brain images by PET scans does show actual physical changes in the brain.
It's one reason I'm a firm believer in tackling depression from all angles. If after a med is found to work, I believe it's crucial to make sure that one has a good healthy diet & active, healthy life-style. I also believe that in most cases, the patient can benefit by therapy of some sort to restructure their thought patterns. Depression 'teaches' us to think in a certain negative way & too often, a person continues to act & react the same way. Most people need help to see how they think & why it needs changing.
I also believe we need to fill our hearts & minds with a purpose once we feel better. I think of it as the spiritual side of a person, whatever someone else may call it. I don't mean a single-minded driven goal but something that's 'spiritually' healthy just like healthy life-style & healthy thinking patterns.
Again, just my two cents worth.
poster:IsoM
thread:89945
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020110/msgs/90093.html