Delonte West battling depression

[Chris]

This is a disease. Get that straight. And it deals with the most delicate and unknown part of the human anatomy, the human brain. Every brain works differently. Every case is different. There are many different kinds of mental illness and many different drugs that are used. For some, there hasn't been a drug that works for them. It hasn't been invented yet

Oh please don't lecture people from ignorance. If every brain 'worked differently' then the very medications you advocate wouldn't have much effect now would they. <g> ****.

The problem with depression is that it unlike other diseases - it doesn't have a clearly defined etiology. That is to say it has mutiple causes. That's why calling it a disease is problematic - it has mutiple causes.

Much as the way a cough can be symptomatic of a huge variation of diseases and sickness - it's much the same with depression. It could be caused something very tangible like a brain tumor or it could be enviromental factors. It could be hormonal and enviromental like say post-partum depression and so on.

Personally I don't have a huge problem with giving people anti-depressants. However I do think the "other side" makes alot of valid points. One interesting issue with anti-depressant drugs is that they change the human brain FOREVER. Your altering the way the brain processes various neurochemicals and the brain adapts to these medications.

It can have some shocking results - like people falling out of love. Love of course is like a chemical addiction. Anti-depressants can actually break this cycle. Others contend (and I think this is another legitimate interesting argument) that depression is in fact natural.

It's the body response to a bad situation. Thus in SOME cases it's quite possible the medications are being overprescribed. (I don't see this as Delonte's problem). But do we want everyone to be happy irregardless of their actual real life situation? I don't think we do. And medicating everyone till such a state is problematic especially when we have vast, powerful, incredibly profitable corporations with a vested interested in doing so behind that push..

Lots of people have speculated (interestingly enough) that if anti-depressants had been popular back in the day most of what we consider the great works of art wouldn't exist. Many of the great composers and artists were profoundly depressed..

It's a similiar issue with ADD BTW - perhaps even worse. ADD has no clear etiology. Depression does have some medical causes we can point too in various cases.

But with ADD what we know is that SOME people don't hold their attention as well as others. Is this legitimately a medical failing or is it just a natural variation? Maybe evolutionarily speaking not be able to sit through a boring lecture had some value. Perhaps we are also to quick to medicate people into a placid state to "fix" a problem that we have yet to pin point a cause for..

Again it's particularly problematic when corprations with vested interests are behind much of the medicating..

Pete

Here is the problem.  There certainly has been plenty of over-prescribing with certain disorders (just like there have been with antibiotics).  However, the backlash from that (which you are clearly demonstrating) is that the very real diseases are being ignored or downgraded in many peoples minds, wrongfully.

You have some very good points hidden in this argument, about how these "diseases" (or call them whatever you want, its just semantics) are often mis-diagnosed and mistreated.  In many cases, Drugs are being used as a crutch to help hide the disease, rather than actually treating it.  And in many cases, they don't need drugs at all, but its just the easy excuse.  However, your argument came off as ignorant (I am sure you didn't mean it that way, but I am just giving my opinion as a reader) from someone jumping to the extreme, and throwing hyperbole out that degrades those who are genuinely suffering from these ailments.

I definitely agree that there needs to be some major reform on how some of these ailments are treated (particularly ADHD, which is overdiagnosed and over-medicated), but it doesn't change the fact that these are very serious diseases (ailments, whatever), that need to be treated seriously.

[cdif911]

This is a disease. Get that straight. And it deals with the most delicate and unknown part of the human anatomy, the human brain. Every brain works differently. Every case is different. There are many different kinds of mental illness and many different drugs that are used. For some, there hasn't been a drug that works for them. It hasn't been invented yet

Oh please don't lecture people from ignorance. If every brain 'worked differently' then the very medications you advocate wouldn't have much effect now would they. <g> ****.

The problem with depression is that it unlike other diseases - it doesn't have a clearly defined etiology. That is to say it has mutiple causes. That's why calling it a disease is problematic - it has mutiple causes.

Much as the way a cough can be symptomatic of a huge variation of diseases and sickness - it's much the same with depression. It could be caused something very tangible like a brain tumor or it could be enviromental factors. It could be hormonal and enviromental like say post-partum depression and so on.

Personally I don't have a huge problem with giving people anti-depressants. However I do think the "other side" makes alot of valid points. One interesting issue with anti-depressant drugs is that they change the human brain FOREVER. Your altering the way the brain processes various neurochemicals and the brain adapts to these medications.

It can have some shocking results - like people falling out of love. Love of course is like a chemical addiction. Anti-depressants can actually break this cycle. Others contend (and I think this is another legitimate interesting argument) that depression is in fact natural.

It's the body response to a bad situation. Thus in SOME cases it's quite possible the medications are being overprescribed. (I don't see this as Delonte's problem). But do we want everyone to be happy irregardless of their actual real life situation? I don't think we do. And medicating everyone till such a state is problematic especially when we have vast, powerful, incredibly profitable corporations with a vested interested in doing so behind that push..

Lots of people have speculated (interestingly enough) that if anti-depressants had been popular back in the day most of what we consider the great works of art wouldn't exist. Many of the great composers and artists were profoundly depressed..

It's a similiar issue with ADD BTW - perhaps even worse. ADD has no clear etiology. Depression does have some medical causes we can point too in various cases.

But with ADD what we know is that SOME people don't hold their attention as well as others. Is this legitimately a medical failing or is it just a natural variation? Maybe evolutionarily speaking not be able to sit through a boring lecture had some value. Perhaps we are also to quick to medicate people into a placid state to "fix" a problem that we have yet to pin point a cause for..

Again it's particularly problematic when corprations with vested interests are behind much of the medicating..

Pete

Here is the problem.  There certainly has been plenty of over-prescribing with certain disorders (just like there have been with antibiotics).  However, the backlash from that (which you are clearly demonstrating) is that the very real diseases are being ignored or downgraded in many peoples minds, wrongfully.

You have some very good points hidden in this argument, about how these "diseases" (or call them whatever you want, its just semantics) are often mis-diagnosed and mistreated.  In many cases, Drugs are being used as a crutch to help hide the disease, rather than actually treating it.  And in many cases, they don't need drugs at all, but its just the easy excuse.  However, your argument came off as ignorant (I am sure you didn't mean it that way, but I am just giving my opinion as a reader) from someone jumping to the extreme, and throwing hyperbole out that degrades those who are genuinely suffering from these ailments.

I definitely agree that there needs to be some major reform on how some of these ailments are treated (particularly ADHD, which is overdiagnosed and over-medicated), but it doesn't change the fact that these are very serious diseases (ailments, whatever), that need to be treated seriously.

I will agree that there are people out there who are medicated for ADHD who don't need it.  I'm not sure I'd go as far as to say its part of the human condition - yes we all get distracted at times, but when its to the extreme, there can be a problem - and the fact that the medication for it has different effects on people who actually use it for ADHD vs. those who abuse it, makes me think the condition is present in some and absent in some.  That said, I have seen many students who go from being terrbily focused, inattentive, even disruptive to very good students once they start taking meds - and when they slip off the meds you notice a big difference.  I don't think medication should be the 1st option in most situations, but it does work when its really needed

[CoachBo]

Good lord. I had no idea Tom Cruise was a regular contributor on this board.

 

Despite the deplorable attempt to politicize this thread, Delonte has my best wishes and prayers for recovery - from this disease.