Posted by juniper on March 3, 2000, at 1:10:14
In reply to Re:Third time lucky - I hope - Read this one, posted by Cam W. on March 2, 2000, at 23:47:47
if all the research on the nature/nurture debate has revealed anything, it is that this is not a black or white case. causes of depression (or any mental illness) are myriad. while some people may have been born with a gene or genes that set them up for depression from the beginning regardless of circumstance, it seems that others are born with a predisposition for the disorder, which, in simplistic biochemical terms, means that these people are born with the genes that contribute to depression. these genes may lay dormant and not "turn on" until an environmental (death, rejection, abuse, stress) or physical (puberty, pregnancy) triggers them to do so. and genes do not make people depressed, genes code for the production of proteins which then go about the complicated processes of creating neurotransmitters and hormones and neuromodulators.
to complicate matters further, you could say all depression is biologically based as feelings and emotions when broken down are neuronal firings. it sounds stark, but this is what an emotion is, and this makes emotions no less mysterious or painful or subjective. whether you choose to treat depression with medication or therapy or soul searching or spirituality, the emotions and feelings composing the depression will only change as your neurons and their neurotransmitters do (because on a reduced level they are one and the same). for you to feel differently, something in your brain needs to change. (studies have shown that talk therapy can be very effective in eliciting the same neuronal changes in the brain as medication) how you bring about this change is an individual choice, and when this change is so hard to bring about anyway, i don't see how anyone could tell you your choice is wrong. i feel you should follow your heart and try what intuition tells you....if this is without medication, know that if this way isn't working for you, medication is always an option.there have been no studies on the long term effects of psychoactive drugs as the regulated use of these drugs is relatively new. the first antidepressants and antianxiety drugs came out in the 1950s (when testing was not as important or understood as it is now) and SSRIs arose in the 1980s.....there just hasn't been enough time to discover long term effects.
as for better off feeling your feelings or numbing them...i think that this depends on the feelings and their purpose. some uncomfortable or sad or anxious feelings are normal in reaction to events or hormonal swings, and these feelings can tell us something, they can be warning signs for danger (physical or emotional). but when these feelings start popping up wily nily as a reaction to the most insignificant stimuli, they lose their value and effectiveness. (asthma is when the body attacks not only major foreign invaders, but also tiny foreign bodies--like dust or pollen. this attack is not useful and ultimately detrimental to the body. so it is with feelings.)i understand your worries of 20 years down the road finding that these drugs have caused some irreversible damage to our brains....i am 23 and have been on and off medications for almost half my life....but knowing what i know even with the uncertainties of the long term, i still choose to take medication because i can be who i think i really am on medication....it is not a matter of altering my personality, but of reclaiming some of the passions and clarity and control i had before the DSM entered my life.
whatever your choice, it is YOUR choice, and i wish you the best of luck in it.
juniper
poster:juniper
thread:25549
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000302/msgs/25655.html