Posted by SLS on November 27, 2006, at 9:24:29
In reply to Re: It's Treatable. No, it's not., posted by linkadge on November 27, 2006, at 8:39:07
> > I might then be able to begin again choosing to think positive thoughts and finding happiness and joy within the boundaries imposed by depression.
> Huh?For me, depression is a disorder of the brain and not of the mind. The mind can determine the limits that depression imposes upon it. If I were to win the lottery, I wouldn't feel the elation that most people would. My brain is limited as to the arousal, reward, and hedonic responses it is capable of. I still feel terrible. It is therefore important not to interpret winning the lottery simply by associating it with feeling terrible and the lack of reward sensations. One must use cognition to interpret the significance of the event rather than relying upon their affective state. That is an unusual happening to use as an example, to be sure. Can you imagine, though, the multitude of microscopic associations and interpretations that one must navigate on a daily basis? If one becomes adept at using cognitive-behavioral re-interpretation of depressive automatic thoughts and distortions, it becomes a habit that's additive effect is to enhance one's mental health and improve the quality of life.
> > Not everyone can be happy, even when they know how to be. Life can be unfairly cruel. Life can be destitute and comprised of hardship. Life can remove choice.
> Now you're starting to see things ! :)I don't know in what ways life has been unfairly cruel to you, leaving you destitute and living a life comprised of nothing but hardship and without choice, but for this I am sympathetic.
Are you depressed? If so, is your depression biological, psychological, or the result of an interaction between the two?
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:706067
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061123/msgs/707759.html