Not everybody is as dumb and racist as you.

The etiological theory you posted. We only know some correlates of depression.

The rough childhood is particularly problematic because such things are based on self-reports and people who are depressed (or have a different mental illness) generally don't describe their childhoods in glowing terms, while those who don't tend to describe their lives in overly positive terms ("sure my mom beat me, but she was a pretty good cook").

Since I don't know you, I feel the need to say sorry that you had a rough childhood if you did. If we knew each other, it would be obvious.

There is such a thing as a major depressive episode (a self-limiting disorder) and another that is chronic depression. I was saying that I was hopeful that you had a major depressive episode and not chronic depression. Having one episode of major depression is much more common than having chronic depression.

Anyway, I am just as happy to hear that you have what sounds like chronic depression that is under control. A lot of people with chronic depression have difficulty doing what they need to do in order to have a pleasant life.

It is actually incredibly difficult for most people to understand that the reason why they are going through a major depressive episode is because they aren't sleeping properly (something that they can control) when they are ruminating on other causes (genetics, childhood, a recent stressful event). That is the big reason I took offence at your etiological explanation - not all people who have the illness are well-served with the simple explanation.

Well, I could but it would bore both of us. Want to hear about what Freud had to say?

It is helpful in much the same way as buying a dog is helpful. It is incredibly hard to be dysphoric when you are giggling and it is incredibly hard to not drag yourself out of bed when the dog needs walked.

Really? You jumped in saying I was making up **** for fun.

Funny how your tone's changed. An abusive or harsh childhood can permanently change your brain's chemistry, function, and even physical structure. It actually physically shrinks. So what's your background in psychology or psychiatry anyway?

Thanks bud, next you'll being telling me that it's not my fault lol.

Excuse me, could you please elaborate?

http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/show...fpart=all&vc=1

lol, i was about to get so rustled

No, I said that I'm fine with the fun of making up etiological stories. It is nearly irresistible. I doubt that you can find a person who doesn't try to explain why they are the way they are.

How is it funny? It is the way conversations go. I never said that child abuse was good for people! It is extremely common (about 30%*) for a child to experience emotional abuse at the hands of a caregiver, and I would guess that there aren't too many kids at all who don't experience emotional abuse or harshness at the hands of their playmates.

My background is an ABD in clinical psychology.

Well, you might have been a little weirdo or jerk that had it coming to you (I am making fun of the blame the victim stance in case that isn't clear).

A case in point is that they used to think that homosexuality was caused by childhood abuse (it is still a common misconception), when it turns out that kids who are queer just tend to get abused because people are *******s to people who are different.

Oh I see. Because the experts aren't exactly sure what the root causes of depression are, but they believe, and the literature indicates, that it's most likely due to inherited genetics and/or environment, no one should say anything about what is most likely the etiological causes of depression until the precise results are in.

We are actually quite positive that it is due to genetics and environment. Everything is due to genetics and environment. (The only other alternatives to genetics and environment are supernatural explanations or that it is just random dumb luck and no explanation is even theoretically possible.)

The problem is that the specifics actually matter as far as genetics go (there is a fairly obvious genetic predisposition factor in anxiety and depression) and that the "it is caused by abuse" leading to a blame the mother attitude and also a sense of fatalism that people with depression aren't well-served by.

And because the specifics actually matter as far as genetics go, no one should say anything in layman's terms about the causes of depression, lest they be told that they're just making up etiological stories for fun.

It is probably ok to mention risk factors as being risk factors. As far as genetics go, it is the same as knowing that your family has a history of heart disease. If you have close family members who have had recurrent depressive episodes (iirc, about 2% of people have recurrent depressive episodes), you should probably be concerned and take proactive measures. Not so much if your one uncle had a single depressive episode as that is a pretty common occurrence (about 10% of adults experience a major depressive episode).

They probably should focus on what we do know are causal and that something can be done about it: Poor sleep hygiene, cognitive biases, etc. You know - the stuff that you've mentioned once we started having a normal conversation.

I'm glad it's probably ok. Good talk.

The "probably" was due to the "lest." It is hard to say for sure whether it could have been completely avoided. I have made it clear that the fun of coming up with etiological stories is a huge part normal human behavior, right?

#notallmen

Pesci is the nuts