Against Depression

an Interview with Peter D. Kramer, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Brown University

from JoeUser Forums
This interview is amazing. It's more fresh and informative than anything I've ever heard on this topic before.

Link

I've often asked myself and others, "Why are so many people depressed these days? Has this problem always existed, or is it epidemic now because of the way our society is?" No one has ever been able to answer my question with anything better than speculation. "Oh, people have always been depressed, but in our age of communication we hear about more cases, and doctors are finally learning how to treat it. Take some drugs, Angela."

Do you experience the following symptoms? Ruminative, feeling guilty over everything, desperately suicidal, empty, depleted, cannot grieve, sad, inability to experience pleasure, change in appetite, empty, hollowness, paralysis, lack of energy. Yep, those words describe me on any given day over the last decade and a half. Sure, I have intermittent moments of elation that spring upon me two or three times a year, but not nearly often enough to carry me through a healthy, productive life.

I learned that I am biologically prone to depression thanks to one or both of my parents (probably my dad though). I seem to be debilitated by normal daily setbacks that most people are able to bounce right back from.

(BTW, for anyone who follows my posts, I tried eating healthy to benefit my well-being in a holistic manner, but it didn't work out. Eating perfectly is hard to do, and my body freaked out. So maybe I'll try those Gawd-awfully expensive vitamins...we might be able to afford them by Christmastime...)

Anyway, I didn't post this article to talk about myself. (Trolling) I came here to post this link. It's a really fascinating and informative interview. Link
3,949 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
Don't really know if it's really a disease or not.

For me & I suspect a lot of people out there it's a dietary problem. When I cut out all the sugar, proccessed white flour, premade stuff & other junk dreppression went away.

There is a way to save on vitamins, at least on the tablet ones. If you look at the labels you'll notice that they have way more than the RDA. Cut them in half or fourths, depending on how much they have. That way you get 2 - 4 tablets for every one tablet.
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
It's true that for some people diet can be the primary factor, but that is certainly not true for everyone. This is one of the reasons depression is so difficult to treat. The causes can be anything from diet, lack of exercise, trauma, to a genetic predisposition resulting in brain chemical imbalance.

If there were a simple answer, there would be little clinical depression. I inherited the chemical imbalance from my father and a simple diet change would have little effect on treating the disease. Two years of drug treatment did restore the proper balance to the point that I no longer needed to continue the drugs.

That worked for me and, as long as symptoms don't return I won;t need the drugs. It's been about 3 years or so since I was weaned off the drug therapy.

Unfortunately, the nature and various causes of the illness means that what works for one person may not work for another. One drug can work wonders for one, and do nothing for another. Diet changes may help one person dramtically, and do zilch for the next.

It's a very difficult illness to nail down.
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Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
I know not all is based on diet, never said it was. I was just expressing my opinion as to why it seems more prevelent now. But if you look at the ingredients of the food you buy, you will notice that high fructose corn syrup (in some form & amount) is in many of them. I've even found it in plain canned vegetables, never figured that one out. I would be willing to bet diet plays a more important role than most give it credit for.

Oops forgot to say, congrates on getting off the drugs. Hope you don't have to go back on them.

I've seen so many prescribed drugs it's beginning to look like 'Brave New World'. Which is scary, way too scary.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
I know not all is based on diet, never said it was.

And I never said you did. I merely expanded on the topic from the starting point you established.

congrates on getting off the drugs.

Thanks. Just medicine to correct an illness. Not much different than anti-biotics or high blood pressure medication. But I am glad to not be taking them any longer.
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
I can tell from the messages I've seen in Joeuser blogs that there is a great deal of confusion and concern about how to lose weight safely and easily and I'd like to help you to overcome those difficulties. The first step is that you have to want to do it. Lose weight that is. Then you have to want to keep it off, without adopting some kind of austere monk-like existence. OK? Then I can help you.
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Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
P.S. Don't be fooled by that RDA thing. Those levels are barely enough to keep you alive. The pharmaceutical lobby ensures that those numbers stay low to make sure you still get sick and need drugs. An estimated 70% of illness and disease is caused by poor nutrition. If doctors were trained in nutrition and were allowed to give nutritional advice the hospitals would be half empty.

Not so long ago, all the doctors in Israel went on strike. Guess who complained the most?
It was the funeral directors whose business dropped.
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