Elphaba Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 Depression’s Evolutionary Roots Two scientists suggest that depression is not a malfunction, but a mental adaptation that brings certain cognitive advantages.When one considers all the evidence, depression seems less like a disorder where the brain is operating in a haphazard way, or malfunctioning. Instead, depression seems more like the vertebrate eye—an intricate, highly organized piece of machinery that performs a specific function.. . . .So what could be so useful about depression? Depressed people often think intensely about their problems. These thoughts are called ruminations; they are persistent and depressed people have difficulty thinking about anything else. Numerous studies have also shown that this thinking style is often highly analytical. They dwell on a complex problem, breaking it down into smaller components, which are considered one at a time.. . . .This analytical style of thought, of course, can be very productive. Each component is not as difficult, so the problem becomes more tractable. Indeed, when you are faced with a difficult problem, such as a math problem, feeling depressed is often a useful response that may help you analyze and solve it. For instance, in some of our research, we have found evidence that people who get more depressed while they are working on complex problems in an intelligence test tend to score higher on the test.No wonder I'm so smart--I'm depressed! Frankly, I'd rather be dumb any day than be depressed. But it's true that when I am in a dark place I do ruminate a lot. Too bad I can't tell you what I ruminate about. Elphaba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palerider Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 Have you been drinking Coke again???????......LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazed-and-confused Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 elph, are you trying to deny what you feel by intellectualizing about it? good for you....it works...keep it up...and maybe someday soon you might not feel anything. btw....here's a hug.....can you feel it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenRaines Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 Ruminate? Do you have that with regular or diet coke? Ben Raines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazed-and-confused Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 LOL, Ben....ruminate........yes, i see, elph, you are probably right, i'm sure we cant handle what seems to be torturing your soul (was that too dramatic for depression?), afterall, NONE of us have probably ever felt like that that....well, ok...i DO believe that some here seriously need to hear the pop, but others just might understand, if you give them a chance. you know what the pop is? tune in later and maybe you'll find out....lol. ok, you probably feel like crap, and things dont make sense.....i mean, how can people be so stupid?...dont they get it?....ARE YOU SERIOUS? and other things make perfect sense, but that gets a bit twisted, somehow.... and, then there is the old.......i can handle/fix this myself, routine. how's that going for you? elph, you have a brain and a heart....both of which i think are awesome........use them and i think you'll hear the POP! and let others be there for you....it is a blessing to them/us, to do that. can you allow that gift to happen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miztrniceguy Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 You're depressed!!??!! My wife just declared to all of Interwebdom that I need fixing. And I didn't even know I was broken. Broke, yes...broken, no. And YOU"RE depressed??!!?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miztrniceguy Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 AND there as a silly menu thingy across the bottom of this page suddenly and it WON"T GO AWAY!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazed-and-confused Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 BTW.....can you give me me the link for,......i'm a kitty kat, and i dance, dance, dance....... you have so infected me with that...i have told countless friends....well, i dont HAVE COUNTLESS friends....but i have told many people about it.........AND I BLAME YOU!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyRudick Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 You're depressed!!??!! My wife just declared to all of Interwebdom that I need fixing. And I didn't even know I was broken. Broke, yes...broken, no. And YOU"RE depressed??!!??Now that is a little scary:eek:I took Zazzy in to the vet a month ago and he was not happy. . . He . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahonri Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 Depression? What's that? Guess that proves your point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Godless Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 Interestingly enough, I tend to use intellectualization and rumination to overcome depression whenever I find myself succumbing to it. I've gotten quite good at reasoning and rationalizing myself out of bad moods. It makes me appear cold-hearted to some people, but I'd rather be cold-hearted than depressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palerider Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 AND there as a silly menu thingy across the bottom of this page suddenly and it WON"T GO AWAY!!!! when I first seen the menu options on the left side of screen....I was thinking...hey...I can order a pizza..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miztrniceguy Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 of course you did, Pale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxel Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 · Hidden Hidden I'd trade my clinical depression for the perks this article talked about any day. I don't notice the intellectual benefits mentioned. And what good is being smart if you can't handle going to school to get a degree? Ouch, I just called myself stupid... Hey, at least I understand that! Interesting read, though- thanks for posting it, Elphaba. Link to comment
ruthiechan Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 It sounds to me that the article is confusing depression with feeling down. When you are actually depressed you are not able to think clearly and you see everything in the negative which really screws your ability to think rationally, let alone constructive rumination. Oh yeah, depressed people can ruminate but about the wrong things or in the wrong way. Oh yeah, depressed peopled can intellectualize but they start the process in the wrong place since everything is skewed to be negative. Using logic and reason to get out of it only works if you aren't in deep. Anything beyond that, the mud has you suctioned in, and takes help from others (and possibly meds) to pull you back out again. Like a tire stuck in the mud. Sometimes you can bull through it, other times you can't. It all depends on how deeply in you are. Anyone trying to make depression out to be a good thing are not displaying intelligent thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Godless Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 Using logic and reason to get out of it only works if you aren't in deep. Anything beyond that, the mud has you suctioned in, and takes help from others (and possibly meds) to pull you back out again. Like a tire stuck in the mud. Sometimes you can bull through it, other times you can't. It all depends on how deeply in you are.My contention is that rationalization can, in most instances, relieve depression before it becomes too severe. If you dwell on it, then yes, it will get worse. But if you can catch yourself in the early stages and reason your way out of it, then you're on solid ground. Personally, this works for me 99% of the time. It's that 1% that is truly terrifying. That's when you need good people around you for support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthiechan Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 My contention is that rationalization can, in most instances, relieve depression before it becomes too severe. If you dwell on it, then yes, it will get worse. But if you can catch yourself in the early stages and reason your way out of it, then you're on solid ground. Personally, this works for me 99% of the time. It's that 1% that is truly terrifying. That's when you need good people around you for support.The trick is having the self awareness to catch the early signs of depression. It took me a long time to be self aware enough to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Godless Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 The trick is having the self awareness to catch the early signs of depression. It took me a long time to be self aware enough to do that.Very true. That's partly where the intellectualization comes into play. If you can cognitively recognize that you're slipping into depression, then you can better prepare yourself to reason your way out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elphaba Posted August 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 It sounds to me that the article is confusing depression with feeling down. . . . When you are actually depressed you are not able to think clearly and >snip<Anyone trying to make depression out to be a good thing are not displaying intelligent thought.Even though I wrote the OP, I am really glad you wrote this. I feel a bit irresponsible for having posted the article, because I know how right you are.I have just barely come up for air after one of the worst depressive episodes I've ever experienced, and I have had quite a few. It was terrifying, because I did not think I was ever going to pull myself out of the mud you spoke of. In fact, I felt like that mud literally ran through my veins, making it impossible for me to even sit upright, much less pull myself out of the stultifying blackness. That feeling of being sucked under would turn into a terrifying sensation of plummeting into a never-ending darkness. Nothing was normal. Colors made no sense to me. I started hallucinating, which, ironically, became my real world. I knew they weren't real, but I also realized they could stay, real or not. People would say things to me, and I didn't understand them because I didn't have the strength to push my mind to the place where I could. I withdrew from everything, and everybody, because it was all just too hard.There is so much more I could say, but it's difficult to write this down because I don't have the words. I am not recovered, but I am much better. I am also terrified that it will return, because I know it can. As far as ruminating goes, yes, in the most ominous moments of this episode, I would ruminate, over and over, "How am I going to survive this?"Thanks for throwing some reality onto my thread.Elphaba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palerider Posted August 30, 2009 Report Share Posted August 30, 2009 If there had been an election....I bet she would have voted Republican.....LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cofchristcousin Posted August 30, 2009 Report Share Posted August 30, 2009 IF there ever was an evolutionary advantage to depression it is certainly not today. I posted a link to the article on facebook. A couple of those that responded say there are spiritual benefits realized after the fact, but they aren't worth the price. I'm 5 months into the second worse depression of my life. NO Way I want to go deeper again. Sending good thoughts and vibes and cyber endorphins your way elphaba. I am sorry you are suffering this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonelyGargoyle Posted August 30, 2009 Report Share Posted August 30, 2009 All you need is a good "scrap" with a wonderful "scrapper". And-------I happen to know one. None better. That will provide a nice mental, psychological, attitudinal, philosophical, adjustment for you. Btw, anyone who can yell "yay" about being depressed just doesn't understand the gravity of the situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elphaba Posted August 30, 2009 Author Share Posted August 30, 2009 (edited) · Hidden Hidden All you need is a good "scrap" with a wonderful "scrapper". And-------I happen to know one. None better. That will provide a nice mental, psychological, attitudinal, philosophical, adjustment for you.No, you don't.Btw, anyone who can yell "yay" about being depressed just doesn't understand the gravity of the situation.Says the poseur.Elphaba Edited August 30, 2009 by Elphaba Link to comment
Elphaba Posted August 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2009 BTW.....can you give me me the link for,......i'm a kitty kat, and i dance, dance, dance.......you have so infected me with that...i have told countless friends....well, i dont HAVE COUNTLESS friends....but i have told many people about it.........AND I BLAME YOU!!!Just for you dazed. YouTube - Kitty Cat DanceElph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moksha Posted August 30, 2009 Report Share Posted August 30, 2009 I have a son who is depressed and his outward manifestation of depression is wanting to play either World of Warcraft or Counterstrike everyday, and has no interest in any other activity or social interaction. It's one thing to take him to mental health, but it is more difficult to get him hooked up with Medicaid. Like Elphaba he is really smart and is a wiz at computers and computer networking. He could even program my TV remote control! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.