Note, not saying I'm depressed and need cheering up. It's just that I've been seeing "Mental Health Awareness Week" fliers posted around campus (I'm tired of them, honestly) and I'm just curious. At first thought, what do you view "depression" as? It seems like a term that's been thrown around these days, but, like anything, I don't want to immediately dismiss it as a real disorder. Not only, it appears alot of people like to "fix mental problems" by throwing pills at them, even if children are involved.

So, taking a semi-serious brief moment, what's your reaction to something like "depression" and related issues. I guess this question was influenced by working briefly at a children's K-4th grade school for a thesis where I met a kid who has been given numerous different medications to "correct" him; I recall it was said that he's been suffering from A.D.D, hyperactivity and traces of bipolar disorder and the pills sorta "sedate" him.

Really? Is that what you've actually observed or is it what you've seen on crappy TV medical sitcoms and antidepressant commercials?

I get the feeling that most people with an opinion on the subject haven't given it any real thought.

Depression, like ADD/ADHD is a real disease, but overly diagnosed. Being down and out doesn't mean you have depression, not clinically at least. It's a disorder in how your brain makes and transmits certain neurotransmitters, mostly Dopamine, Serotonin, Norepinephrine, and maybe GABA. The most effective cures usually aren't used because there's some very serious risks and problems associated. Look up MAOIs, one of the most effective "cures" for depression since it lengthens the life of the serotonin molecule. The diets are so restrictive you basically can't eat any meat or cheese.

No, it's true, I know someone who went to the doctor with sleep troubles and problems holding a job and came out after a very brief visit with a prescription for anti-depressants. No therapy, nothing like that, just some pills. It happens.

I've had a few brushes with depression, but mine has always been natural and justified. You know, like having a bad month where I was stressed out and didn't like where my life was going. I often wonder if sometimes people have something like that and get themselves into a kind of panic snowball of depression, you know?

I didn't say I believe disorders as nonsense and I'm not going to ignore data; but surely something like "real ADD" (for lack of better terms) is at a different level than what people often "write-off" as ADD, hence developing a throw-pills-to-fix problem.

I remember in middle school, numerous kids in my grade were taking Ritalin. Sure, I can accept some of them really needed the medication. I understand ADD is a real issue. I'm not a doctor but somehow I can't shake the feeling others didn't need the pills and were under the prescription because their parents felt that their "ADD" was going to impede on critical learning skills. Thus, creating this broad, almost generalizing, condition of "ADD."

That's what I was getting at.

There are people who only feel down yet take pills like they have serious depression and those who actually have a clinical depression but only write about it on the Internet instead of fixing it in real life. Hum.

And why are you putting ADD/ADHD and depression in the same sentence? I thought the hyperactive kids feel like they're having the time of their life all the time while simultaneously annoying the hell out of everyone else.

like ADD/ADHD, it's real but people label waaay too fast.

Whenever you're feeling depressed a little MDMA will put you back on your feet.

Who needs prescription meds anyways?

Maybe I'm dense but what is "It's a real disorder; it's just not people often make of it." supposed to mean?


Absolutely. "Why am I feeling so depressed? My life isn't that bad. I have so much to be thankful for and yet here I am, depressed. I'm such a terrible person." And down the spiral you go.

Actually there's been clinical studies using it to treat everything from depression to PTSD in soldiers from the war in Iraq.

It's shown promise, but because of the negative connotations of "ecstasy", I don't think it'll ever get the recognition it should. Poor Shulgin

I noticed it was worded poorly but couldn't change it. Meant to say something like "It's a real disorder but it's different than what people often say it is."

The trouble with psychological disorders is that they can be very difficult to diagnose. What is a doctor supposed to do if he thinks a patient is just being a lazy bum but it might really be depression? He can't very well do nothing, and since antidepressants are safe, why not prescribe it?

They're not though, and can cause real depression and severe depency issues if prescribed in the wrong manner :\

What? Source?

The only "dependency" issue I know if is withdrawal, which is common and not at all severe. Actual physical dependencies do not exist.

They've also never caused depression. They are silly stories that they cause "suicidal tendencies" but that is more the case of extremely depressed people taken an antidepressant, and all of a sudden having enough motivation and drive to want to kill themselves. Before that they were too depressed to even try.

Of course there's no physical dependency, but psychological dependence to anti-depressants can be a big problem. You have someone who tries to get off of them, and starts feeling down again for some small reason, bam they're right back to taking them even though they don't need them. The withdrawals can cause depression because of the way it basically "rewires your brain" so to speak, but only temporarily.


I'd like to see sources on that. Because I know a few people who were worse off on SSRI's than they were just being depressed. There's plenty of reasoning behind the idea that they could create depression--mainly the fact that not everyone's neurotransmitter's are going to be the same, so treating them with the same drug is silly. I'm starting to tread into an area that I admittedly do not have a degree in and am not an expert on, but have a pretty good idea of the workings therein.

If you want I can look up some sources and ask my friend who's actually taking courses for this, but I can't guarantee results anytime soon.

Of course, which isn't really that dangerous.


I know it happens, I should have clarified. On the "vanilla" SSRIs like Zoloft or Lexapro, negative side effects are very, very rare. Of course they should always be taken under close surveillance, at least at first. But the risks are generally pretty low for those types of antidepressants that it isn't worth a full psychiatric evaluation.

I used to be on SSRI's.... I never want to go back there again...

Not really knowing about the subject I will say that isn't depression linked in some way to possibly a bad life situation? Like financial or relationship issue for example.

I mean could everything be going good in your life and your just depressed for no reason because your body?

Yeah, that would be a genetic cause.

It could be one or another. There are many types of physical disorders that can cause depression, but it can also be physiological. Medicating depression when you don't have to is a good way to get screwed up. That should be done as a last resort.

Depression, however, is also self-perpetutating. Being depressed is neurotoxic to serotonin, and thus only continues the cycle even further.

Yeah, it sucks.