the cosmolinguist ([personal profile] cosmolinguist) wrote2015-02-09 12:45 am
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry
Entry tags:

How depression works

Elsewhere, a friend relates having been told by someone else "You've had [good thing] and [other good thing] happen, how can you be depressed?

To which I said: Because that's not how depression works, is why. Sheesh. It's a disease. That's like saying "but you're so tall, how can you have eczema?" The two things are just completely unrelated.
Flat | Top-Level Comments Only
syntaxofthings: Death Fae from the Fey Tarot (Default)

[personal profile] syntaxofthings 2015-02-09 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
This. So much this.
davidgillon: A pair of crutches, hanging from coat hooks, reflected in a mirror (Default)

[personal profile] davidgillon 2015-02-09 03:52 am (UTC)(link)
People are dense.

And when it comes to depression they're even denser than usual!
silveradept: A kodama with a trombone. The trombone is playing music, even though it is held in a rest position (Default)

[personal profile] silveradept 2015-02-09 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
So true. And sometimes the good things make the depression worse.

[personal profile] cosmolinguist 2015-02-09 11:09 am (UTC)(link)
And sometimes people don't understand that what constitutes a good thing is not universal. In this case, I happen to know that the first of the good-things listed is indeed considered to be good by my friend, but also draining and demanding and thus something he frets about as much as he looks forward to it. So good things aren't always simple, either.
kaberett: Trans symbol with Swiss Army knife tools at other positions around the central circle. (Default)

[personal profile] kaberett 2015-02-09 08:49 am (UTC)(link)
ayuppp.
pseudomonas: (harp)

[personal profile] pseudomonas 2015-02-09 05:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah. And it's kind of complicated further, cos external events and experiences can make a difference to this sort of thing (cf. situational depression; behavioural therapies) but it's just not as simple as "sad things make you depressed and happy things make you un-depressed", and depression is not the same thing as sadness, even though it has some elements in common with it.
Edited 2015-02-09 17:15 (UTC)
withagreatlove: (Default)

[personal profile] withagreatlove 2015-02-13 01:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you. Awareness for those who do not suffer is so, so important. Wishing you well.

[identity profile] halfshellvenus.livejournal.com 2015-02-09 09:09 pm (UTC)(link)
I would say that the fact that a person is depressed _despite_ those good things is a clear sign that they may need anti-depressants (or an ajustment in their current regimen).

Because that is pretty much one of the clearest indicators of depression-- feeling down or even just 'meh' in the face of things that should objectively make you happy.

Did your friend appreciate your analogy? I liked it. :)

[personal profile] cosmolinguist 2015-02-10 07:35 am (UTC)(link)
It did seem to be well-received, yeah. :) I was terribly proud of it -- which is why I reproduced it here!

[identity profile] bethanthepurple.livejournal.com 2015-02-09 10:12 pm (UTC)(link)
High five to you.
(Hi52u)

[personal profile] cosmolinguist 2015-02-10 07:34 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks. :)

(Your icon is the best thing ever!)
Flat | Top-Level Comments Only