Posted by Eddie Sylvano on January 2, 2003, at 15:25:44
In reply to Dreams and Depression, posted by Not Bob on December 31, 2002, at 3:11:41
> http://www.clinical-depression.co.uk/Understanding_Depression/dreaming.htm
---------------------I probably spent an hour or two reading through this site and evaluating what the authors had to say about depression. For those who haven't read it, here's a brief book report...
Depression is caused by maladaptive thought patterns, and not by any type of chemical imbalance. The maladaptive patterns mainly constitute "black and white" thinking. By narrowing the range of possibilities one considers, and focusing on extreme negatives, a sense of hopelessness and loss of control are engendered. This style of thinking has its origins in stressful events, and the explanations we create to rationalize their causes. Dreams come into play as a mechanism to complete incomplete emotional transactions that we encounter or create during they day. The black and white thinker can only ruminate on the bad, building up a resevoir of unsatisfied emotional events. The brain tries to complete these through dreams. The dreams are usually as unpleasant as the thoughts they're derived from. The dreams disrupt our deep, rejuvinative sleep cycle and leave us feeling exhausted and further stressed. This cycle leads to more bad thoughts, more bad dreams, more exhaustion, etc. All of this affects neurotransmitter levels negatively, resulting in the physical manifestations of depression, which also feed into the cycle. To fix all of this, we need to adopt the correct style of thinking. If we do this, the depression will go away.
Okay. So that's what I got out of it. I may have missed something here or there, but I think it's mostly there (read it yourself for more info).
The striking claim they make is a reversal of causation: poor thinking causes depression, and not the other way around. This immediately implies that the depressed person is entirely responsible for their own depression. It is, in an unavoidable way from this argument, volitional. Not a disease.
Something that the authors fail to address is how one comes to employ such bad thought processes to begin with. They make ample note of the fact that stressful events alone aren't the causes of depression, but rather the internal explanations one uses to frame the events. Doesn't this simply push off the origin? Why *do* some people create negative stories to define their lives, while others think correctly? What causes *that*?
I'm in agreement with their position that correcting negative thought patterns is a good idea. It's what psychotherapy is based on, and not a novel idea, really. I do take issue with their contention that depression is solely the result of such thoughts, and their lack of an explanation for what causes the negative thoughts to begin with. According to this theory, there is no such thing as an endogenous depression without preceeding negative rumination. What is one to do if they are actively thinking "correctly" but still suffer from depression? According to them, this isn't possible. They must be doing something wrong. I find this assumption galling.
Anyway, I just had to say something after reading this. It amazes me that there is still such a divide of biology vs behavior between those who study depression. Might there not be some middle ground? I'm also skeptical of any theory that attempts to define the mind's operation in purely abstract, philosophical ways. The mind is a result of the brain, a strictly material object, and is constrained in its operation by the functioning of the brain. If something is wrong with the brain, one cannot simply rise above it. The brain comes first. That isn't to say that the brain is unaffected by our thoughts, but that our thoughts are contrained by our brain. Ultimately, it all comes back to that. People need to give the biology of the mind its due.
poster:Eddie Sylvano
thread:1982
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20021230/msgs/2021.html