Posted by SLS on October 12, 2000, at 16:21:05
In reply to to Scott, posted by coral on October 12, 2000, at 14:03:48
Hi Coral.
> It's not an either/or, nor is a competition -- accuracy in perception is not solely determined by whether someone is depressed or not.
Of course.
> This line of discussion (re: perception) came about when someone else and I refuted the statements that a depressed person's perceptions were essentially inherently distorted and therefore,
Yes. I believe that they are. The degree to which cognitions are distorted have been shown to be related to the severity of depression. What kind of depression are you talking about anyway? I was referring to major depression and bipolar depression. Depression is a small word people use to describe a great many things.
> the person could not be relied upon to make the most appropriate decision re: suicide for him/herself.
Yes. I believe that this is true in far more cases than it is not. This is why I went out of my way to write anything in the first place. Anything short of acknowledgment of this phenomenon would only serve to foster a tragic decision to be made by someone reading this thread.
As you have indicated, it is not an either/or situation. I fully recognize that there are people suffering from chronic and intractable psychiatric illnesses for which a deliberative decision is possible and appropriate.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:42903
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001012/msgs/46217.html