Posted by Abby on January 11, 2000, at 21:09:23
I was sitting at my computer reading thew Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health.
I was feeling blah--somewhat depressed, able to receive information, but not feeling up
to creating (i.e. writing) anything. It's the kind of
feeling where you don't realize how bad it is until it
gets better. I felt guilty for feeling bad about how I
felt, because it should not have been that bad etc.
So, in the section on brain structure and function, I
was reading about how chronic stress and depression may
permanently damage the hippocampus, that the dendrites
of the neurons actually atrophy. It's one thing to think
that your chemicals are off; it's quite another to think
that part of your brain is no good.I thought, oh my god, I'm doomed. And then about an hour
later I laughed at myself. Feeling guilty about having
been depressed in the past obviously meant that I was mildly
depressed. That, if anything, would only make whatever
brain damage I'd already experienced worse. So, I
resolved to quit worrying and laugh at the absurdity
of it all.
poster:Abby
thread:18752
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000101/msgs/18752.html