Armor Games

@ Ascender_257: You should go back and read this page, because I feel your take on the issues at hand are overly simplistic.

@ turret: Well, that speaks of the issue of 'how do we define depression?' I don't like what I've been doing, but throughout this thread I've been using the clinical definition of depression, the one that a psychiatrist may diagnose you with, and, as you correctly point out, even with this seemingly arbitrary, stringent definition, the proportion of people who are affected or will be affected is very high and likely understated.

It's not like mental illness is something that exists in like, a separate world of functioning- it's part of how we work and sometimes don't work xD

But the qeustion that i have for you is say you take these depression pills what do they do to make you not be depressed.

I should answer this in the 'your medical questions answered' thread!

Nah, it's fine here. This actually depends on which pill you're taking. The most basic answer I can give is that for clinical depression or mood disorders in general, many cases there is a disturbance in the balance of various chemicals in your brain (dopamine, serotonin, noradrenalin, MAO etc. etc.) Different parts of the brain use different chemicals (known as neurotransmitters) to signal other parts of the brain so apparently influence and reflect the brain's state of operation. We say that there might be an issue with the balance when it appears that the behavior and moods of a person are found distressing or impinge on functioning, and aren't temporary, which indicates to us that the body, left to its own devices, probably can't balance itself out.

What the pills do then is attempt to selectively fix this balance by increasing or decreasing either the levels, the production or the response to certain neurotransmitters in certain parts of the brain. The first such medications did a pretty horrible job of it because the doctors didn't really know much of what they were doing, but lately things are going along much better, with medications that exert a much more controlled effect with less nasty side-effects, as our understanding of the brain becomes more sophisticated. However it should be said that it's still a little hit-and-miss sometimes and if anybody believes they should be on medication or that they are depressed or otherwise have moods they can't cope with, talking to a (good) doctor is probably the best course of action.

I'm aware that in some places the mentality goes 'take these pills and you'll get better' which, IMO, tends to overprescription. Things like depression are rarely independent of other life issues, so talking about the other aspects can also be valuable, if for nothing else but to give the patient a chance to be heard.

Maybe they're closet-emos :P

Sorry, I couldn't help myself!