Depression is caused by lack of sense of purpose, discuss

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I have clinical depression and have since I was 10 years old. I didn't suffer any injury and I've never heard of depression being associated with brain injury.

Why don't you google clinical depression to learn something about it.

Mine is kept in check with medication, so I'm pretty sure it's chemical.

One way to find out if you have clinical depression is if you are welcomed with "supposed good news" a job promotion, large sum of winnings, or anything that could potentially change your life for the better, and you are indifferent or unaffected by that. Huge red flag that there could be something chemically wrong.

I've been significantly happier since my life became more orderly. Worrying about basic necessities is misery.

Exactly.

It's funny some modern human tribes report higher levels of overall happiness, along with the people's of many poorer or third world nations.

It's because the western way of life is toxic.

We're working and studying more than ever, financially struggle more than ever due to inflation and the costs of rising in housing, tuition fees, etc.

Australia is lucky to have free healthcare but I know the U.S. doesn't so that makes it even harder for them.

Also, I think it's just plain ignorant to believe depression is purely chemical, but that seems to be what all the 'professionals' are thinking nowadays.

I agree a variety of environmental and lifestyle factors contribute including diet, age, living conditions, etc.

You can't just make someone attend therapy sessions and pop pills and expect that to cure all their problems.

I think the medical system needs an overhaul to be more honest with clients suffering from severe depression to suggest what possible changes they can make to their life.

For example being obese/in poor health can help contribute to depression but psychologists basically aren't allowed to bring this up because it could offend a patient.

But honestly, what if I'm an Aspergers, obese, substance abusing alcoholic with a very poor diet who is completely socially isolated and spends almost all day everyday completely alone at home, I have no hobbies or interests aside from watching tv and surfing the net, put no time or effort into my appearance or hygiene (don't brush teeth, don't bathe, don't shower), have suffered a lifetime of bullying, have never had a girlfriend, have no friends, my family hate me and call me all the time to say bad things to me over the phone, am a high school dropout, have no job, am on disability, and in debt for gambling addiction?

It'd be a miracle if pills and therapy can solve this sort of depression alone.

People need a healthy social life for well-being, they need a support network of family and friends, a diet that provides the bodies necessary nutrients helps the mind function better and the bodies mood improve, substance abuse and alcoholism in the long-term worsen depression, and people need to feel they have worth and value in this world, even if it just means volunteering a few hours a week and getting back out into the world.

I'd love it if the medical system gave me access to nutritionist to put me on the right path with diet, a personal trainer that provides some basic guides to exercising to feel better, getting you in touch with groups designed to help you overcome substance abuse, and disability 'social groups' where you can go each week to spend time with other disabled people (I use to have one of these, we'd go out two days a week, one day being water aerobics from a personal trainer, the other day being a barbeque at a local park or even a few towns over) etc. or even Depression and anxiety social groups, even if all of this costed a reasonable amount of money.

^I agree completely.

Depression most certainly, in many cases, is conditional and not chemical.

I am 4x as depressed with my broken wrist, preventing me from being able to lift weights and exercise, than when my wrist was fine.

But I'm sure it's 'just chemicals' and taking a pill will solve it. I am unhappy I cannot exercise so taking a pill will make me happy even if I still can't exercise.

What?

See, that doesn't make any sense.

More often than not we need to find the root of the problem, what exactly is causing the depression.

In my case, to overcome this sort of depression I need to fill my time with other things and just deal with whatever emotional pain I have until it heals, and avoid destructive behaviors at all cost.

One of the many things I have trouble with in regards to modern medicine these days is treating pills and so forth as the only option.

I've had pretty terrible depression throughout my life and I used to have clear purpose and at points even had what you'd call a 'successful' path relative to my ages, the undiagnosed autism wreaked havoc but being autistic doesn't mean everything is down to that quality. Autistic issues don't emit every single contrail of a billowing cloud that can be deemed depression, contribute and smear yes but depression for me has countless sources, the hazards of autism certainly complicate and bleed into the concept though, the professionals who have got to know me over the years encourage me to see each condition as separate but to not lose sight of the 'weather', when you have several things affecting your mood and processing and associative scattering or whatever, depression becomes hard to unravel and tackle or even easily 'admit' that you suffer its smog.

Well, SSRI's and other pills are really a last resort, I've tried everything approach, often temporary and if the dosage is strong enough it will dull all of your emotions. So no, you won't feel happy nor sad.

I think there is a difference between environmental depression and clinical depression.

Clinical is something in your brain that is caused by an imbalance so no matter what goes on in your life and what to do, you will always be depressed.

Environmental depression is something caused by stress in your life or anxiety or bullying or abuse or if a loved one has died or a friend, low self esteem, or anything that made you sad and you have a hard time coping with. I have always had environmental depression and I have been drugged for it before which I like to call Happy Pills. I think the purpose of them is to help you cope better with whatever is making you unhappy. And of course depression can be a side affect of treatment you are getting for cancer so my mom had to get on happy pills for it. I suspect many people suffer from this type of depression so they say to the ones with chemical depression, "Just go out" "Just think of happy thoughts" because they do things things to help keep their minds off of whatever is bothering them.

Before I knew about chemical depression, I just thought depression was being unhappy with yourself and being frustrated all the time because I was told I had depression. But I was still doing everything, going out with my family, doing my normal activities, going to school, still talking, and I was going to work still when I was an adult and I have even gone to work when I was in a bad mood and having a bad day because of something that would happen so I thought anyone else who calls in and doesn't go to work because of depression were lazy and using it as an excuse and people who refuse to do anything due to depression were just being lazy and using it as an excuse to be alone and not do anything and it was a choice. Then when I found out, I started to question if I ever had depression to began with and my mom was mistaking. I don't say anymore I have it. I undiagnosed myself with it. It just comes and goes.

I definitely acknowledge a difference between the two, personally.

I'd never push the idea onto someone likely chemically depressed that 'changing your life' will make things better, nor will I accept those who suggest depression is purely chemical when I know for a fact the conditions of my own life affect my depression.

I think it is dangerous to not differentiate the two, one way or another.

This is why therapy needs to take into consideration the patients lifestyle and current condition.

If the client is young, healthy and has an active social life and sense of purpose through their studying and working, then maybe treatment should be oriented more towards the idea of chemical depression.

While a patient who has reasons to be depressed, stressful lifestyle, sleepless nights, loneliness, in poor health, aged, etc. should be given more environmental depression treatment.

Knowing this when I found out about my bipolar, helped me reduce about 90% of the mood swings and stopped me going into deep depression. But everyone is different.

I did it by daily exercise outside and keeping my head occupied on other things when I felt it coming on. Before I would intensely focus on it and on why it was happening, that put me in a very bad place.

I think you can tell if medication is necessarily by the amount of self-destructive behaviour the person is engaging in. Also, if there is suicidal ideation, or a suicide plan or, obviously, a suicide attempt.. These are things the psychiatrist looks for to know if chemicals are necessary. In my case I was cutting and drinking myself to death and overdosed several times; which led to a specialist which led to a diagnosis and pharmaceutical treatment.

I didn't know people could want a relationship or children for not having a sense of purpose. Many times I feel like I don't have a sense of purpose but I literally have no faith in humanity enough to even want to associate myself with another person on a romantic level.

In my personal experience, they still give you medication if your depression is environmental.

I want to let everyone know depression is no longer thought to be a "chemical imbalance" - this has been debunked. It's cause is not known.