Understanding Depression

by: Martin Myers
Everyone can agree on the fact that depression is a debilitating disease. What we can’t all seem to agree on however, is what this disease does to a person’s ability to think reason and perceive. The problem in coming to an agreement here lies in the many causes and physical reactions to depression.Common cause of depression include biochemical factors, severs stress, a sense of hopelessness, lack of sunlight and illogical thinking. The biochemical factors and sunlight are physical and environmental conditions that can be corrected with prescribed drugs or light exposure. What however can a person do about stress and feelings of hopelessness, and are these conditions causes of depression or symptoms of depression. It is within the confines of the medical profession that conversations such as this have raged for years.Some researchers believe that stress and feelings of overwhelming hopelessness are the causes of depression, while others believe they are symptoms of depression. Research conducted supports both conclusions. Further studies have supported lent even more support to the evidence that stress, changes in expectancies, and irrational or hopeless thoughts are a result of depression, not a cause.But what effect does depression have on our ability to think and reason? Do all our thoughts become illogical and negative? Not all depressed persons experience the same changes in their thoughts, but do all depressed persons experience some change in the thought process? Questions such as these are hotly debated even now, with all the wealth of information available to scientists and doctors. The brain is such a complex machine, that understanding of the processes and the ability to relate certain processes to the application of the masses is slow to come.In general the depressed person sees the cup as half empty, not half full. That’s not to say that some of the population, without any evidence of depression will still see the cup as half empty. Can you see the difficulty of the situation here? There are many symptoms of depression that exist even within the thoughts of people with no evidence of depression. How do scientists and doctors distinguish, for the purpose of setting clear guidelines? I don’t believe they can.I believe our thought process is like a fingerprint. Everyone’s is different in some way. No two people will be the same in their thoughts, or in their ability to act on those thoughts. Treatments for illogical and depressed thoughts will always be a tailor-made situation.