Does depression serve a biological and/or spiritual purpose?

[The Journeyman]

While western medicine has gone to great lengths in finding ways to treat it, the understanding of the genesis of depression remains unclear. Many cases suggest it is often caused by traumatic memories that alter the processing of emotions in the limbic system, some think it is brought about and perpetuated by a stress hormone system that has run amok after a period of prolonged stress. But even simple things like climatic/seasonal, dysfunctional sleep/wake patterns, even menstrual cycles have been known to cause it.

Many depressed patients show a reduced volume in the hippocampus and even the amygdala as well. This seems almost like a process of death. This can be caused by excessive, long-term exposure to glucocorticoids. These are the regions in the brain that are most important to the basic response to and processing of emotional information.

However, it has been recently discovered that the brain is tremendously resilient and able to generate new neurons throughout life.

While reading through some literature on evolutionary medicine, I kept finding reasons for illnesses that seemed to derive from a specific purpose or function, whether it be to perpetuate a parasitic species or genetic disorders resulting from mutations stemming from some evolutionary trade-off (sickle cell aenemia for example), or just the body telling the person that something is not right and signalling it to change its condition. Could depression be some long-term mechanism to keep the person from experiencing another traumatic experience? Or could it be some spiritual disease, possibly a contagious negativity with no purpose other than to destroy? Could it be a period of spiritual/intellectual death and rebirth, as with a cleansing brush fire which enriches the earth, or a spiritual purification similar to the concept of purgatory?

[Aces High]

the understanding of the genesis of depression remains unclear.

I know one cause,being English and having to sit through our world cup progress every four years.....in some ways it would be better if we had a shit football team like Scotland/Wales/Ireland then we would be excused the mental turmoil.

[_______]

:)
While western medicine has gone to great lengths in finding ways to treat it, the understanding of the genesis of depression remains unclear. Many cases suggest it is often caused by traumatic memories that alter the processing of emotions in the limbic system, some think it is brought about and perpetuated by a stress hormone system that has run amok after a period of prolonged stress. But even simple things like climatic/seasonal, dysfunctional sleep/wake patterns, even menstrual cycles have been known to cause it.

Many depressed patients show a reduced volume in the hippocampus and even the amygdala as well. This seems almost like a process of death. This can be caused by excessive, long-term exposure to glucocorticoids. These are the regions in the brain that are most important to the basic response to and processing of emotional information.

However, it has been recently discovered that the brain is tremendously resilient and able to generate new neurons throughout life.

While reading through some literature on evolutionary medicine, I kept finding reasons for illnesses that seemed to derive from a specific purpose or function, whether it be to perpetuate a parasitic species or genetic disorders resulting from mutations stemming from some evolutionary trade-off (sickle cell aenemia for example), or just the body telling the person that something is not right and signalling it to change its condition. Could depression be some long-term mechanism to keep the person from experiencing another traumatic experience? Or could it be some spiritual disease, possibly a contagious negativity with no purpose other than to destroy? Could it be a period of spiritual/intellectual death and rebirth, as with a cleansing brush fire which enriches the earth, or a spiritual purification similar to the concept of purgatory?

what doesn't kill you makes you stronger :D life is a battle...

[SwordoftheVistula]

It's an overdiagnosed BS modern invention.

According to modern 'mental health' professionals:

Below arbitrary threshold='depression'

Above arbitrary threshold=ADD/ADHD

[Agrippa]

Depression is the suicide mode, also known from various social species, if the individual being shunned, excluded and constantly harassed by the pack.

Chicken for example tend towards suicidal behaviour in such cases, they are more careless and become more often prey to predators. Other species even know individuals which starve to death, even though they could live on - if being expelled from the group.

So depression, if caused by immense social stress, is the suicide mode for no longer using ressources the relatives could use, once the "life failure" became clear.

That's one aspect, the reactive or exogenous depression, also common in people with chronic diseases which are painful and restrictive, also absolutely understandable and again going fluently into the "suicide mode for a reason".


The other one being indeed over-diagnoses, because there are many essentially normal variants with a DEPRESSIVE TENDENCY which are even very valuable, careful, caring and thoughtful human beings. So valuable personalities and traits being "pathologized" because not being "mainstream" and on-line with a certain idea of how humans have to be and have to behave in the modern Liberalcapitalist society.

Thirdly we have the endogenous depression, a defect largely caused by a predisposition and environmental factors just activating it, but the main factor coming from within the personality.

Now my idea would be, that 2 and 3 could be related, like valuable schizothymes vs. pathological schizoids and certain forms of Schizophrenia.

There is a normal, valuable variant, probably the result of specific genetic variants and if this genetic variants being no longer balanced out, are probably homozygotic or otherwise badly recombined genetically, you get a problem case.

So for having the valuable individuals with the normal, slight depressive tendency in comparison to the mean, you have to pay the bill by having a certain proportion of pathological cases, similar to gifted schizothymes vs. schizoids or immunological cases like that of the Sickle Cell gene which offers a certain immunity against the Malaria, but is a severe condition in the homozygous version.

[Himera]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiOyvxgcob4&feature=related


:rolleyes::(

In Hungary it was a gesture of humain proud ...

[mymy]

I think lot of people in modern society deals with some kind of depression or anxiety... Stress and disappointment are part of everyday's life and some people don't know how to pass it...
Also, there is difference between normally melancholic people and those who have serious psychological problem.

[Grumpy Cat]

Also, there is difference between normally melancholic people and those who have serious psychological problem.

The former are friggin' annoying.

XEJDGLF-e18

[Eldritch]

This book is ten years old, but it remains the most comprehensive work on depression in popular, non-clinical literature, at least as far as I'm aware:

http://contentcafe2.btol.com/ContentCafe/Jacket.aspx?UserID=LVCCLD702&Password=CC89101&Return=T&Type=L&Value=068485466X

According to the author, most evolutionary biologists believe depression to be far too common for it to be a simple "derangement"; that is, an ailment without a purpose.

Depression may be a side effect of some other, actually beneficial processes in the brain; it may be caused by the stresses of modern life, which we aren't properly evolved for, or alternatively, it may be an evolutionarily "obsolete" response. Some researchers even suggest that it is necessary for people to be depressed at times.

[Agrippa]

I think one should distinguish between "depressive moods" and a clinical depression to begin with.

Obviously there can be fluent borders, but some wide definitions which include obviously normal, even beneficial traits are a way to pathologize non-mainstream behaviour from a certain, even ideological, perspective.

[Grumpy Cat]

I think there are many causes for high instances of depression:

- Excess pressures put on people in or modern society
- Our sedentary lifestyle
- The breakdown of the family
- Bad eating habits

Of course, though, it's always been around, and exists in more traditional cultures, that's why some have ethnogens for depression and anxiety.

[Treffie]

I've recently completed a thesis on clinical depression. I won't post extracts from it as it's really depressing.

[Boudica]

or just the body telling the person that something is not right and signalling it to change its condition. Could depression be some long-term mechanism to keep the person from experiencing another traumatic experience? Or could it be some spiritual disease, possibly a contagious negativity with no purpose other than to destroy? Could it be a period of spiritual/intellectual death and rebirth, as with a cleansing brush fire which enriches the earth, or a spiritual purification similar to the concept of purgatory?

I think that it can be all of the above.

[Phil75231]

*Actually, there is some considerable evidence out there that indicate depressive people actually have more realistic assessment of their lives in some circumstances.
This is called Depressive Realism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depressive_Realism). The issue is still far from settled, even so there seems to be some evidence that optimism bias/positive illusions are important for happiness in at least some individuals (though not all).

*"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is a myth. Traumatic events cause trauma and little else. If what doesn't kill you makes you stronger were true, then survivors of rape, child abuse, bullying, and witnesses to hideous events causing PTSD would without exception the strongest people in this world. There is no evidence for any actual strengthening - only surviving and coping. Yes, most do get on with their lives, but even so there is always the horrible memory or memories of it all. The event that "doesn't kill you" doesn't impart strength -- it's more of a ball and chain they could do better without.

[supergiovane]

I support the idea that depression is an evolutionary device used by our brain to give some rest to the body. an overly active lifestyle can lead to more potential threats.

[The Journeyman]

I support the idea that depression is an evolutionary device used by our brain to give some rest to the body. an overly active lifestyle can lead to more potential threats.

That seems maybe more possible for cases of atypical depression, where you have symptoms like hypersomnolence and a reduction in cortisol.
But with more common forms of depression, like melancholia, there is an overactivity in the hypothalamic-adrenal axis, and these people are usually hyper-responsive in stress tests like the skin response test. The body is put in a state of fatigue usually from this overactivity of the nervous system and the process can be highly catabolic to the body.

I agree with Phil75231, I think depression can be a state in which a person is trying to make sense of something profoundly troubling and may in fact have a better grasp on reality and how to deal with certain problems. For that reason, I would think that many people with depression can be more insightful or in tune with certain emotional or psychosocial issues. I would even go so far as to say more intelligent people have bouts of depression due to a greater intellectual responsibility which can lead to more stress.

I also think that depression can be learned from a parent or parents as a conditioned state of mind, and in turn carried on to subsequent generations in various forms. For example in cases of physical discipline/abuse, the affected children can find aggressive outlets if taken to the extreme and if finding that behavior normal, do the same to their children. Or if one parent has a bad self image, many times it can be carried out on the child, leading to the child's lowered self image.

[Curtis24]

First, I believe it definitely does serve an evolutionary purpose. During times of violence and social instability, those who kept their heads down were likely to survive. During the Fall of the Roman Empire, for instance, a depressed peasant who had little ambition and thus would not make enemies would be more likely to survive vs. someone who was out trying to "get his", so to speak.

Does it serve a "spiritual" purpose? Well, I think that depression arises when our minds perceive that ambition could potentially hurt or endanger us. Of course, most of the time in modern society, depression is irrational - most times there is no danger from trying to improve our lives. Like many of our flaws, depression is baggage from our torturous evolutionary past...

[Don]

http://edant.clarin.com/suplementos/cultura/2007/02/03/thumb/2.jpg

[Cato]

The task must be made difficult, for only the difficult inspires the noble- hearted.

Soren Kierkegaard.

And yes I have had a difficult life.