What Exactly Is Depression? More Basics
B. A. (Beverly) Smith
- Confusion
- about
- depression
- is
- very
- common.
- Commercials
- touting
- the
- latest
- “cure”
- compliments
- of
- the
- drug
- companies.
- But
- which
- one
- do
- we
- ask
- for,
- the
- one
- that
- makes
- you
- float
- with
- balloons
- or
- the
- one
- with
- the
- pretty
- girl.
- Or
- should
- we
- ask
- at
- all,
- don’t
- the
- doctors
- know?
- If
- it
- is
- as
- simple
- as
- popping
- a
- pill
- then
- sign
- me
- up.
- Huey
- Lewis
- wanted
- a
- new
- drug,
- wonder
- which
- one
- worked
- for
- him.
- Yet
- we
- know
- it
- is
- never
- that
- simple.
Confusion
- and
- more
- confusion.
- I
- see
- it
- in
- the
- faces
- and
- I
- hear
- it
- in
- the
- voices
- of
- friends,
- family
- members,
- and
- the
- people
- suffering
- from
- depression
- as
- they
- struggle
- to
- understand.
- Some
- common
- questions
- I
- am
- asked
- are
- why
- don‘t
- they
- look
- depressed,
- what
- makes
- it
- different
- for
- different
- people,
- what
- causes
- it,
- how
- did
- the
- person
- get
- the
- disease,
- and
- what
- they
- should
- do
- about
- it.
- It
- is
- time
- to
- start
- clearing
- up
- some
- of
- the
- confusion.
This
- book
- continues
- the
- attempt
- to
- clear
- up
- some
- of
- the
- confusion
- as
- we
- take
- a
- look
- at
- those
- questions
- and
- attempt
- to
- answer
- them,
- on
- a
- general
- level:
- Why
- depression
- may
- look
- different
- on
- different
- people,
- some
- common
- causes,
- and
- ending
- with
- some
- general
- treatment
- information
- and
- interventions.
- Depression
- can
- be
- very
- difficult
- to
- understand.
- Reminds
- me
- of
- a
- quote
- from
- Listening
- to
- Prozac:
- “If
- the
- human
- brain
- were
- simple
- enough
- to
- understand,
- we’d
- be
- too
- simple
- to
- understand
- it.”
- Luckily
- we
- don't
- have
- to
- understand
- the
- entire
- brain,
- to
- understand
- depression.
- A
- person’s
- quality
- of
- life
- can
- be
- greatly
- improved
- if
- depression
- is
- recognized
- and treated.
