Depression, the secret we share

Changing the world is just a matter of time. The sooner we start, the sooner we get there. — Carlos Terol A great visualization of how smartphones absorbed the traditional camera market. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXTXOVPrP_E

Can this happen with our present ideas regarding mental health, too? We are convinced it will. For more than 100 years after Sigmund Freud's introduction of Psychoanalysis and more, not much has happened.

As writer Andrew Solomon expressed in his widely acclaimed TED talk of 2013, Depression, the secret we share: In 1991, I had a series of losses. My mother died, a relationship I'd been in ended, I moved back to the United States from some years abroad, and I got through all of those experiences intact.

But in 1994, three years later, I found myself losing interest in almost everything. I didn't want to do any of the things I had previously wanted to do, and I didn't know why. The opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality. And it was vitality that seemed to seep away from me in that moment. (…)

And I thought, "But is it a chemical problem or a psychological problem? And does it need a chemical cure or a philosophical cure?" And I couldn't figure out which it was. And then I understood that actually, we aren't advanced enough in either area for it to explain things fully. The chemical cure and the psychological cure both have a role to play, and I also figured out that depression was something that was braided so deep into us that there was no separating it from our character and personality.

I want to say that the treatments we have for depression are appalling. They're not very effective. They're extremely costly. They come with innumerable side effects. They're a disaster. But I am so grateful that I live now and not 50 years ago, when there would have been almost nothing to be done. I hope that 50 years hence, people will hear about my treatments and be appalled that anyone endured such primitive science. www.ted.com/talks/andrew_solomon_depression_the_secret_we_share

Join our regular exchanges at LinkedIn group A Chance for Happiness • Connecting mental health thought leaders and changemakers around the world. www.linkedin.com/groups/5035162

And if you want to make a personal difference and talk about it, like we do, too, join us for A Chance for Happiness London Mental Health Week October 3-10, 2023. www.gofundme.com/f/achanceforhappinesslondon2023 It's easy. For more information, please get in touch at office at topcontext dot com.

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