response 81 of 170:

Jul 10 01:18 UTC 2002

I read an article today in the Chicago Tribune "Depression looks more like
a physical thing". 
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/health/chi-0207070369jul07.story?col
l=c
hi%2Dleisurefamily%2Dhed

Basically, it says advances in brain-imaging technology like PET and fMRI may
indicate that depression may be more physical than functional.  An excerpt:

"Before we had the new imaging technology, we couldn't get inside the brain;
it was just a black box," said Dr. Jan Fawcett, chief of psychiatry at
Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center.

"Now, if you look at the PET scans of people with just depression, what you
see is a shutting down of activity in their frontal lobes," he said. "It won't
explain all depressions, but it'll explain many causes of depression. The most
important thing it'll do is to show that depression should be considered a
medical illness."

The new findings should go a long way in helping to end the long-standing
debate over whether depression is organic or functional. Organic means there
are physical and chemical changes in the brain that produce depression;
functional means it's purely psychological.

"It used to be thought that there was nothing really physical in the brain
that's causing depression," said Dr. Emil Coccaro, a University of Chicago
professor of psychiatry. "Now we're actually starting to focus on the organic
reasons for these behavioral problems and to locate where they are."

A massive problem

Understanding the causes of depression is vital because the problem is
massive. About 1.5 million Americans suffer brain injuries each year, and 25
percent to 40 percent will experience depression, many of those with lifelong
depression.

Post #65 seems to go along with this.  I wonder if regular short term
depression (due to bad things happening like death of loved ones) tend to be
functional and long and recurring depressions tend to have physical origins.
I've been guilty in the past of suggesting to someone with depression that
they just needed to change their attitude.  A family member who later opted
out of life, which made me very depressed for a while.  But after a while,
I found not dwelling on what happened, prevented depression.  So the attitude
thing seemed to work for me (after a while), but I probably wouldn't suggest
that to someone with chronic or long term depression.  

response 83 of 170:

Jul 10 16:22 UTC 2002

no kidding.  This is good.  I know there are studies for chemical 
causes of bipolar disorders; it shouldn't be unreal that unipolar 
disorders shouldn't have roots in chemical imbalance.

response 85 of 170:

Jul 10 17:44 UTC 2002

While they have determined that depression is biologically real and 
that there are measurable differences in brain chemistry between those 
with depression and those who arent depressed, they have no idea what 
causes depression. They dont know if the observable brain chemistry of 
depressed people is the cause of depression or not. They have not ruled 
out functional depression. 

response 87 of 170:

Jul 10 19:18 UTC 2002

There is also the understanding that MDs and Psychiatrists often 
prescribe antidepressants in combination with one another, though there 
are some that you cannot mix at all.  Wellbutrin increases the levels 
of norepinphrine and dopamine and is primarily a stimulant to brain 
activity, and Celexa is an an SSRI.  These drugs work with different 
chemicals in the brain.

response 89 of 170:

Jul 10 20:04 UTC 2002

or whether they do, for that matter (the effect of SSRIs isn't that much
better than placebo).

response 91 of 170:

Jul 10 21:17 UTC 2002

Sure. Just don't tell people it's a placebo, and they do wonders.
 
Which means that depression really IS heavily perspectually, but I don't think
very many people really ever questioned that.

response 93 of 170:

Jul 11 13:22 UTC 2002

"perspectually"? Wow. How the Hell did I mangle it THAT bad?
Oh well, I guess y'all knew what I meant.

response 95 of 170:

Jul 11 18:05 UTC 2002

Part of the problem, too, is that nobody's really sure where the line is
between physical and psychological causes.  After all, thoughts -- at least,
as we understand them now -- are events in the brain, and the brain is a
physical thing.  It's very hard to come up with a medically useful definition
of a psychological cause that will actually distinguish it from a physical
one.  But, like pornography, everyone's convinced that there is such a thing
as a psychological problem, and that they know it when they see it.

response 97 of 170:

Jul 11 21:25 UTC 2002

That's the biggest barrier to getting competent care for mental heath, 
besides the shortcomings of individual  patient involved -- Insurance 
Companies.

response 99 of 170:

Jul 12 12:45 UTC 2002

But that at least keeps the cost of insurance a bit lower.
Zoloft is also used for obsessive-compulsive disorder and other things. 
Serotonin seems to have lots of different functions.

response 101 of 170:

Jul 12 14:48 UTC 2002

My insurance coverage is pretty decent for mental health.  But they way 
that administer the mental health portion of their services is not.  
You have to call a specific number and tghey'll give you a list of 
names from a list, and you go and see if they are taking patients.  So 
you can't even go to the therapist you want if they do not take your 
insurance.  So I dedcided that I would go on my own and find a 
therapist and opay for it myself.  It's not cheap, but I didn't like 
the alternative and could afford to avoid it.  I get the prescriptions 
for antidepressants from my MD, who is cleared to speak with my 
psychologist.  So insurance does in fact help me out

response 103 of 170:

Jul 14 16:12 UTC 2002

Hey, Carolyn, have you heard about ehnotorious prof in Harvard's chem 
program? A couple of this guy's studends committed suicide.  This was 
before either you or I got to Boston