A whine about depression

[SpaceFluffer]

Yeah, only it's on your brain. I've also described it as "trying to think through sawdust."

That's a good descriptor. I often used the phrase "trying to move through syrup", because everything requires so much more energy.

 

[Moose]

Mmm. Yes. I've been struggling with depression, off and on, for a long while now. Sunday evening, after a day of having done very little, I had a nice steak waiting to be cooked (I love steak), and simply couldn't bring myself to light the bbq.

I ended up eating out, because this required "less effort" on my part.

I'm feeling a little better, but this hasn't been one of my more productive days.

 

[delphi_ote]

Just an observation: it seems like a lot of the posters here in this discussion are people I've previously noted as being particularly intelligent in my short time in this forum.

Any thoughts on that?

 

[BillyJoe]

Just an observation: it seems like a lot of the posters here in this discussion are people I've previously noted as being particularly intelligent in my short time in this forum.Any thoughts on that?

Any thoughts on that?

You're implying there's a link between intelligence and depression?

Hmmm, did I ever tell you about the time........


BillyJoe

 

[tkingdoll]

Just an observation: it seems like a lot of the posters here in this discussion are people I've previously noted as being particularly intelligent in my short time in this forum.

Any thoughts on that?

I believe mayday has mentioned she suffers from depression. Make of that what you will.

 

[tracer]

It ain't just intelligence and depression -- there seem to be links between intelligence and really really serious mental disorders like schizophrenia. (John Nash, anyone?)

 

[Jon.]

I asked my psychiatrist whether there was a link between intelligence and depression not long after I got out of the hospital (over 5 years ago now). He said basically, no, there isn't, but intelligent people might be diagnosed more readily because they are more likely to be in jobs that require high mental functioning. If the local garbage collector started to get depressed and his higher mental functions were impaired, it's not likely that it would affect his work to the point where he needed to seek help. If it's a doctor, an accountant, or a lawyer, for example, that person is more likely to notice it (and/or have it noticed by others).

Also, more intelligent people may be more willing to seek help and to admit to a diagnosis of mental illness. There is still a significant stigma attached to mental illness.

 

[delphi_ote]

No no... not implying anything of the sort, BillyJoe!

My observation was that the people posting about and sharing their depression in this thread seem to be a collection of bright people. Just wondering what the commonality is that brought all of you here, and if that commonality is related somehow to my perception that you are intelligent.

It could be that for whatever reason, you are all better at expressing yourselves in a way that seems intelligent to me. That could be because I can relate to your viewpoint better than other posters, or it could be that people suffering from depression are more eloquent in some way.

It could simply be that something about the subject of this thread attracted compassionate and intelligent people who have dealt with depression... and somehow I ended up posting here too.

The point of my post was not to imply anything. My point was to:

a) See if anyone had any interesting hypotheses for my observations. Jon most certainly did. tkingdoll's post was hilarious... and makes a brutal point.

b) Compliment a whole group of people whose posts I have appreciated in one fell swoop! LostAngeles is one of my all time favorite posters. SpaceFluffer makes some very challenging posts. Lisa Simpson has made me laugh and think countless times.

 

[Moose]

It could simply be that something about the subject of this thread attracted compassionate and intelligent people who have dealt with depression... and somehow I ended up posting here too.

Well, there's almost certainly a selection bias happening here in any case. What are some of the things the folks in our "sample" have in common? We've all some degree of computer literacy. We're reasonably comfortable with the idea of expressing ourselves in a written medium, among relative strangers, on what is primarily an intellectual message board. And some of us are depressed.

 

[RapmasterT]

Re: Re: Re: Re: A whine about depression

Given that the context was a discussion of Tom Cruise's stupidity regarding clinical depression, I don't think I was wrong in seeing that as the meaning behind what Randi wrote.

I know he meant to be lighthearted, and I don't mind a laugh at my expense one bit (I always say if you can't laugh at yourself, you're not allowed to laugh at anyone else), but I still say that Randi was trivializing clinical depression.

No, the context was responding to a fellow joking about being depressed after seeing Cruise's last movie. You've misrepresented the context, then attacked Randi for "trivializing clinical depression", which I'm pretty sure cannot be brought on by viewing a bad movie.

This kind of forum posting is what I call the "I'm more sensitive than you" post, and probably accounts for 75% of messages on some forums. The context of anything said is irrelevant, someone will manufacture a reason to be offended by it and then a discussion launches revolving around context, word definitions, and other irrelevant nonsense.

It makes me think that that a rule defining this behavior is inevitable. (i.e. Godwin's Law )

 

[tracer]

He said basically, no, there isn't, but intelligent people might be diagnosed more readily because they are more likely to be in jobs that require high mental functioning. If the local garbage collector started to get depressed and his higher mental functions were impaired, it's not likely that it would affect his work to the point where he needed to seek help. If it's a doctor, an accountant, or a lawyer, for example, that person is more likely to notice it (and/or have it noticed by others).

There's something else that occurred to me.

I've heard that there might be a link between depression and the level of physical activity one engages in.

The less intelligent folks tend to gravitate toward blue-collar work, which involves a lot of walking around and picking things up. The more intelligent folks, on the other hand, tend to gravitate toward white-collar work, which tends to be more sedentary.

 

[Jon.]

There's something else that occurred to me.

I've heard that there might be a link between depression and the level of physical activity one engages in.

The less intelligent folks tend to gravitate toward blue-collar work, which involves a lot of walking around and picking things up. The more intelligent folks, on the other hand, tend to gravitate toward white-collar work, which tends to be more sedentary.

I hadn't thought of that, but it's entirely possible that such a link exists. I have been told by my doctors that there is a good deal of scientific literature indicating that physical exercise is good at preventing and treating depression.

 

[BillyJoe]

The more intelligent folks, on the other hand, tend to gravitate toward white-collar work, which tends to be more sedentary.

Intelligence => sedentary => depression?
So the intelligent section of our community should take up some form of physical activity as a protection against depression?

I run 10K every morning.

Am I correct in concluding that a person who doesn't suffer from depression because he exercises every day is necessarily intelligent?



BJ