Posted by BobYuma on February 4, 2004, at 19:31:53
In reply to Re: Anxiety, Lexapro and a Revelation-- Lexy » BobYuma, posted by Esmarelda on February 4, 2004, at 17:11:41
> > How does our body learn to be depressed?
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
Hello, Esmarelda.
I don't have the researchers' answer to your question, although it's probably out there somewhere, but I do have my own experience to speak from, if I may.I never knew what depression really was, or what it felt like, until I was 42 years old. I mean it was alien to me as to how someone would come to find themselves in a state of depression, and I honestly believed that I was incapable of feeling depressed.
Then, for the first time in my 42 years of life, I lost a very close member of my family. It took eight months for the depression to fully set in, and another two months for the depression to turn into full blown panic attacks. Ten months after I lost my loved one, I was stuck squarely in the middle of a deep, life-altering depression.
I went to my doctor and she started me on Paxil. It was another year before, with the help of Paxil, I was able to pull myself out of the depressive state I was living in.
At that point I was fine, in fact, emotionally and physically I was perfect ... for three months. No medication, no depression, no panic, and no doctor visits.Then, out of the blue, I was suddenly facing another life-threatening illness of a close family member. This time it didn't take nearly a year for the depression and panic attacks to start up. Immediately, and I do mean 'immediately' my body responded to the situation with that old familiar feeling of depression and the hellish panic attacks. I knew that my body responded as it did because it had done this before -- my body had learned what depression was, and it wasn't going to take anywhere near ten months for the depression and panic to manifest itself this time ... it was, as I wrote, "immediate."
Your question was "how does our body learn to be depressed?" ... How do we learn to ride a bicycle? Or swim? We learn these things by doing them. As silly as it may sound to some, in my opinion, our body learns how to be depressed by being depressed.
I expect some to disagree with this, and that's fine, after all, all we have is our own experience to speak from.Take care.
BobYuma
poster:BobYuma
thread:109458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040204/msgs/309487.html