Stanford's Sapolsky On Depression in U.S. (Full Lecture)

[Curiousity]

I linked this in another thread, but thought that this is too good of a talk to be buried in a thread.

Stanford's Sapolsky On Depression in U.S. (Full Lecture)

YouTube:
"Stanford Professor Robert Sapolsky, posits that depression is the most damaging disease that you can experience. Right now it is the number four cause of disability in the US and it is becoming more common. Sapolsky states that depression is as real of a biological disease as is diabetes."

Stanford.edu:
"Robert Sapolsky
Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences

Robert Sapolsky is one of the leading neuroscientists in the world, a research associate with the Institute of Primate Research Museums of Kenya, and a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. At the same time, he has been called "one of the best scientist-writers of our time" by Oliver Sacks and "one of the finest natural history writers around" by The New York Times. Prof. Sapolsky has produced, in addition to numerous scientific papers, books for broader audiences, including A Primate’s Memoir: A Neuroscientist’s Unconventional Life Among the Baboons, Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: Stress Disease and Coping, and The Trouble with Testosterone."

 

[scrapper13]

im suffering from severe depression right now and i wish the people im working with had this type of understanding. im going to both a therapise and psychiatrist. im currently trying a second medication, but it is just debilitating. im out of work right now and for the past week ive been sleeping upwards of 20 hours a day. in the back of my mind i know the way im handling this is wrong, however it is still impossible for me right now to deal with this in a healthy manner

 

[iprimate]

I linked this in another thread, but thought that this is too good of a talk to be buried in a thread.

Stanford's Sapolsky On Depression in U.S. (Full Lecture)

Thanks for that. Most interesting.

 

[Big Dave Smith]

I've suffered from depression. My girlfriend has suffered as well. I was the guy who slept all day because I thought my life was so bad. I was full of shit and I was feeding it to myself. I can tell you right now that I'll NEVER COME CLOSE to how I used to feel. I changed my psychological state.

I won't get started on a rant, but I feel that depression is merely an issue with perception. We're in a society that flaunts a false idea of success. We grow up with hopes and dreams only to watch other people on TV doing what we always wanted. Other societies have different expectations on life. They're not full of shit. Depression is a choice. People get a little bummed out... then let themselves stay bummed. Being bummed becomes the normal. Soon people don't know how to be happy. Everybody become a Debbie Downer. Debbie Downers don't attract fun, smart, great people. Debbie then becomes lonely... it becomes a downward spiral.

Here's an example SORT of related to this... Eating disorders. We're the richest country in the world that has both ends of the spectrum. People CHOOSE to over eat because of many reasons. Even worse is people CHOOSE to become annorexic or bulimic. It then becomes a fixation. It then becomes a disease.

Ever notice that Amish people aren't depressed or annorexic or mentally fucked? It's because they don't know what depression (the kind WE experience) or annorexia even IS!

Tony Robbins is really corny, but I love listening to him. He lays it out pretty truthfully. People make decisions. People have control of their actions, emotions, etc.

How do you want to feel? What's stopping you? Yourself?

I love the way I feel right now. I choose the way I feel right now.

 

[Curiousity]

I won't get started on a rant, but I feel that depression is merely an issue with perception. <snip>...

How do you want to feel? What's stopping you? Yourself?

I love the way I feel right now. I choose the way I feel right now.

Thanks for your opinion, but perhaps you should actually watch the lecture before you comment. Because it is quite obvious that you didn't. My opinion is that you are one of the specific groups that the lecture talks about as being a threat to treatment for real depression issues by dismissing all depression as a perception issue (i.e. attitude.) To lump all depression as a result of perception is to ignore genetics as the brain is obviously affected by a person's genetics. You wouldn't say that Dorian Yates and Peewee Herman have the same genetics, would you? The answer is obvious. True depression has roots in chemical reactions in the brain. Just as genetics controls the height and general abilities of a person, these genetics can also affect the ability of our brains to produce and interact with different neurotransmitters. To ignore the role of genetics in affecting how our brain works, just because it isn't something that is easily visible, does a disservice to those who are suffering from real depression. It's like walking up to someone with type-I diabetes or crohns to telling them to buck up and get a better attitude.

I understand your point. Some/normal depression can be fixed with a combination of attitude and time. Personally, I choose to not watch TV because they try to make the stories so emotion and focus around bad news. I don't want that negativity in my life, so I get my news elsewhere. There definitely is power in a positive attitude. I'm not denying that nor do I hide from it...but you should really watch the lecture because your comment really misses the point of the lecture.