A recent report recommended that those who are grieving be classified as depressed patients. The upshot if this idea is implemented is that more people would end up being treated for depression.
Which doesn’t fly all that well with certain people.
The NYT featured an interesting essay on evolutionary biology, behavior, and depression. The basic premise of the article is that many researchers are currently fixated on the idea that evolutionary biology guides actions and is responsible for many illnesses, but that illnesses like depression don’t fit into this mold because there often isn’t a silver lining.
Dr. Richard Friedman, the MD who wrote the article, illustrated his point by first recognizing that certain studies have demonstrated that patients who are sadder may have better judgment than those who are not; however, he continued by pointing out that the thought patterns of depressed patients are nothing to “embrace,” but something that should be addressed because the thinking of the individuals is often distorted. He continues by weighing in on the health risks associated with severe depression.
I agree that depression is something that must be taken seriously, but find fault a little bit with the doctor’s attitude towards depressed individuals in that he repeatedly stated that depressed individuals had a hard time making decisions. I believe that this is a gross over-generalization; it depends on the individual. Abraham Lincoln, for example, was thought to have been severely depressed at many times in his life, yet was able to make decisions that resulted in the end of slavery in the United States.
Many individuals who are not depressed also have distorted world views based on their religious or family backgrounds. How we think and treat others is often a result of our upbringing as well and not just a result of the chemicals in our brain.
The LA Times has the low-down on a few movies centering on mental illness including “A Dangerous Method” starring Keira Knightley which focuses on the mental illnesses of one woman back when “hysteria” was a serious mental condition. To prepare for her role in “A Dangerous Method,” Director David Croneberg had Knightley watch old movies in which the female characters had been diagnosed with hysteria.
As director David Cronenberg describes it: "Hysteria has pretty much been either medicated away or the conditions that gave rise to it — repression and shame and the fear of making a misstep in a very rigid society — no longer exist."
Though I love Elvis’s “Blue Christmas,” my daughter absolutely hates the song! She is six and thinks it is too sad for Christmas. Maybe it is, but Christmas isn’t just about joy and cheer—it’s also about remembering loved ones lost, those less fortunate than us, and plenty of other sad things, too. She’s not young enough to know that just yet, but most of us “get it” by the time we’re in our teens.
I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder almost twenty years ago and have a truthful handle on my medication. Finally. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t need a good support network or a plan when things are tough. The most important thing for anyone who has just been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder to realize is that it is important to make a plan for when things go wrong.
I was talking with a family member the other day and grew increasingly concerned as he described his depression. He told me that he didn’t care if he lived another day or not. Part of the reason was side effects caused by his other medication and part of the reason was dealing with a history of depression.
He said that he had taken anti-depressants on and off for several years, but that he didn’t like to take too high of a dosage. I asked him why, and he said that he was concerned that they wouldn’t work or that the side effects would be too bad.
Stress.
For reasons I’m not going to write about here, I’m having an extremely stressful couple of weeks. I always thought I handled stress well, but maybe not. A couple of weeks ago, I landed in the emergency room for the first time after having what I am hopeful was a panic attack.
Read more about Stress and the Parasympathetic Nervous System 
If you haven't watched this video of this brave young guy being victimized at school for who knows what reason, you should watch it. We not only need to stop the bullying at our schools, we need to take care of the victims of bullying so that they can survive.
Ever wonder why our modern children, with their plethora of video games, play dates, sources of entertainment, and dozens of scheduled activities seem more depressed and often supposedly require so much medication? It turns out that all of these modern advances may not be that great for them at all—and what they are lacking, of course, is simply sheer unplanned playtime.
