[Darth Denkay]

Depression's Upside??? Nope, not buying it.

I live with major depressive disorder. This means that regardless of how wonderful every single aspect of my life is, I have a chemical imbalance which, if not managed, will render me unable to survive. There is no upside to this. There is no upside to taking medication every day so that I don't slip into the deep abyss.

Throughout their life, most folks will experience sadness, perhaps even depression, in response to significant life stressors. Sadness/depression allow/help us to 1) know that something has happened that we need to deal with, 2)slow us down so that we can focus, and 3) helps us know when we are overcoming sadness (among many other roles that basic sadness serves). This is normal, and though not pleasant, it is healthy and helpful. Major Depressive Disorder - major depression that is not linked to an exterior event, is not healthy or helpful.

I like Darwin. I think he had a lot of really grand ideas and I do buy some of his theory. However, he was in a position where his own circumstance (apparently living with a clinical mental disorder) went against the very focus of his theory. Because depression is prevalent, then it must be useful, because if it isn't it goes against survival of the fittest and makes his grand plan moot.

We can't say for certain what Darwin's situation was. We can conjecture on what diagnosis/es he might have had, but we can't know. Finally, we can't look at his life as some sort of evidence that actually, depression can have a good side. Normal sadness - yes. Clinical depression - oh hell no.

Originally Posted by HowSoonIsNow

Depression's Upside