Question:
For weeks I did not know that this group was "soc" etc instead of "alt" like most of my other
groups. I am md and tried the alt.support.depression group (there isn't such a group for md) and
I could not really relate to manytypes of depression that were being discussed. Also, I know that
the suicide rate for mds is higher than that for unipolar d's. Sorry for the rambling.
My curiosity is this: Do bipolar I people suffer a different type of depression either
psychologically or nurologically, or is depression just depression?
Answer:
Mine lists alt.support.depression.manic also, but it never has much
activity in that internet. Certainly nothing like this one. I did a
couple of posts there and they only stayed there for several days,
then mysteriously disappeared. Don't know why - maybe it's a
moderated group or something like that.... depression as a whole group of manic depression. They are all disorders of mood, ups and
downs; while the periods of ups/downs will vary between people.
Its hard to draw a line between psychological and nuerological depression as there are
no clear lines between psychology, psychiatry and neurology because of turf battles. But
if we are talking about biochemical vs. situtational depression, there is a vast
difference. But for the sufferer, depression is depression and there is seemingly no
difference. After all, who can really say, my pain is greater/better than yours? I tend to agree with what Jung wrote on manic depression. These
may not be the right word for word but you'll get the gist of it. "Mania can cause a person to build grandiose expectations of themselves
and their environment. Many times expectations being so grandiose
that they can't be met physically or even spiritually."
So in my case when the mania is gone and all that is left is darkness.
I still remember those grandiose feelings and it causes the depression
to seem that much more infinite. The depression I experienced before
I ever experienced mania was different than after. I've only experienced
mania twice, but I miss it. Maybe that's crazy I don't know.... ;-)
Dr David (that's me! ) there are two types of depression and
that each has differing modes. One that is physiological and one that
is emotional. The physiological condition may give rise to emotional
states, but not vice versa. The physiological condition suggest a genetic predisposition, but it
seems possilble that long term behaviours may lead to a change in
chemical balances within the brain. (not conventional widsom)
Examples of these long term behaviours would be structural physical
stress, such as daily commuting, highly repetiteive factory jobs and
so on. Some forms of structural stress with high levels of
intelectual activity. And (not conventional wisdom) some forms of
sleep deprivations such as might be experienced with central apnoea
and obstructive sleep apnoea.
All of these physiological conditions would offer the kind of
depression we experience as MD's and I guess to those with clinical
depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder and so on.
The other depression, the kind that also exhibits behaviours such as
avoidance, and similar, I think are founded in the emotions. The
level of emotional distress, which may also arise from long term
structural conditrions such as employment - not getting the emotional
rewards - fear for your job and so on - as well as not coping with
traumatic experiences - I think generates patterns of behaviour we -
in common sense language - call depression. Serious as it is, it is
not the phsiological condition we suffer from as MDs, and has an
emotional not a physiological root.
What do others think is that a fair summary? This leads me to aks something of this group: Do any of you find that the
weather greatly effects your mood? I have been fairly stable for a few
years, but a grey day is sure to make me feel very unmotivated -bordering
on depressed. (I live in an area of the country that has a plethora of
these in the wintertime.) I have to say that its hard for me
to agree with you.
1) "...trend to view dx....as a whole group of manic depression." I
know alot of dx's, but not too many md's, (dx=10-15% of the pop, while
md=1% of pop). It seems like the dx's only have an imagined (accurate
though it may be) view of mania. My family is riddled with a fair #
of dx, and 2 md, and there's a big diiference to me. Where is this
growing trend coming from?
2) "hard to draw the line...because of turf battles." Just because
intelligent people with respected scholastic degrees are fighting for
patients and territory (I totally agree on this) doesn't necessarily
give rise to the conclusion that there are no differences. I won't go
on with parallel examples. I think I'm just on the edge of mania. I've been getting grandiose ideas
but for some reason am able to stay somewhat focused. I guess I'd call it
hypomania.
This is a pretty good state to be in. But mania is a different story. I've
gotten into lots of trouble during during manic episodes. They're not fun
at all. But the higher I get the harder I crash. Then, when I'm depressed,
I feel as if I've fallen from grace. But I find that my depression is
different than what other people who never experience hypomania describe.
My depression is more like a thing to get absorbed in. I get absorbed in
the experience of depression. I've noticed, and read descriptions of,
manic depression as being more self centered than other major mental
disorders. I get manipulative when I start getting high and explore my
depression to the exclusion of the rest of life when I crash.
