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Depression is complicated. More complicated than any of us are currently able to understand. As discussed in class and reiterated by Sara, mental illness, in general, lacks a cause and effect trajectory. It is impossible to pinpoint one definite cause. Even the term, “cause”, seems unfit when describing a condition such as depression. I mentioned in class that one of the ways I attempt to understand the biological basis for depression (and the action of antidepressants) is through thinking about receptors and the implications of the involved neurotransmitters. But this reductionist viewpoint will only get us so far. I guess I would have to disagree with VPina when he said that depression seems easier to understand when “broken down to its core”. Yes, understanding the biological “core” would be extremely useful, but it will not explain the full story. It will not fully explain the variability that exists nor will it offer simple solution answers such as, “be more healthy”.  

With that, I would like to say that I too was very moved by David’s question of how people with mental illness perceive their own condition. Again, I am sure that the answer to this question is variable. I mean, if every brain is different, than how could people’s self-perceptions NOT be variable? But at least for depression, I don’t think it is just a question of how a person perceives that he/she is out of sync with the rest of society but it is also becomes a question of how that person comes to terms with that fact that it may be a problem. Like Bkim noted, mental illness does seem to be more mysterious than other traditional physical illnesses.   And so quickly the “mysterious” becomes translated into the dangerous, the unknown, and the unexplainable. This becomes problematic when one is trying to come to terms with depression. No one wants to be thought of as weak. From my own experiences, people suffering from depression prefer to understand, at least initially, their own condition as a chemical imbalance rather than a socially induced adaptation or something that they COULD have controlled for. It may be easier to see depression from a reductionist’s viewpoint, but that does not seem sufficient for the full understanding of depression.