Can We "Learn" Depression?
You can't blame anyone for being stricken by depression.
People don't become depressed on purpose.
The trouble is we've been brainwashed out of self-sufficiency and into taking handfuls of anti-depressants because, so we're told, our brains have suddenly come off their gimbals and need to be re-aligned.
That being said, can we learn depression? I don't mean purposely, but is it a sort of 'follow my leader' condition? Following on from there, why do some people become depressed and not others? One point to bear in mind is that it isn't so much what happens to us, but how we re-act to the event.
I'm sure you've had the experience of talking to a friend or family member and they've told you that they're completely stressed out and very worried over a problem they have.
You ask them to tell you the problem; perhaps you can help.
They explain, and your first thought is; 'What in the name of goodness is so terrible about that?' Truly, if that particular situation happened to you, it would leave you cold.
You'd simply deal with it and carry on.
But conversely, you can tell someone about a problem you may be having, and they think exactly the same thing that you thought about your other friend.
Too many people view life through the lens of depression.
It's only natural that we learn attitudes and perspectives from those with whom we grow up.
If these attitudes are at all depressive in nature, then we learn to think that way.
This is what I mean by 'learning depression.
' On the other hand, if your family's a happy one, always rushing around doing pleasurable things and you notice that they take any problems they may have in their stride without being downhearted and gloomy about them, then it's most likely that you'll grow up with the same attitude.
So yes, depression can be learned.
This canard about depression being a disease might, in fact, help some people who, wrongly, feel guilt about their condition.
"Oh, I have a disease, so I can't help it.
" It isn't a disease, of course, but they still can't help it.
Being depressed isn't their fault, as I pointed out at the beginning, but it's always worth repeating.
What tends to bear this out is the fact that some people can go through the most terrible experiences, but come out the other side without a trace of depression.
Others can live lives virtually problem-free and yet suffer from depression.
If we consider prisoners of war, like the poor chaps in the German Stalags, I'm sure that a lot of them did suffer from depression, but those who, assuming they'd had a normal childhood, busied themselves with plans for escape, thereby keeping their minds occupied, were in the main, depression free
People don't become depressed on purpose.
The trouble is we've been brainwashed out of self-sufficiency and into taking handfuls of anti-depressants because, so we're told, our brains have suddenly come off their gimbals and need to be re-aligned.
That being said, can we learn depression? I don't mean purposely, but is it a sort of 'follow my leader' condition? Following on from there, why do some people become depressed and not others? One point to bear in mind is that it isn't so much what happens to us, but how we re-act to the event.
I'm sure you've had the experience of talking to a friend or family member and they've told you that they're completely stressed out and very worried over a problem they have.
You ask them to tell you the problem; perhaps you can help.
They explain, and your first thought is; 'What in the name of goodness is so terrible about that?' Truly, if that particular situation happened to you, it would leave you cold.
You'd simply deal with it and carry on.
But conversely, you can tell someone about a problem you may be having, and they think exactly the same thing that you thought about your other friend.
Too many people view life through the lens of depression.
It's only natural that we learn attitudes and perspectives from those with whom we grow up.
If these attitudes are at all depressive in nature, then we learn to think that way.
This is what I mean by 'learning depression.
' On the other hand, if your family's a happy one, always rushing around doing pleasurable things and you notice that they take any problems they may have in their stride without being downhearted and gloomy about them, then it's most likely that you'll grow up with the same attitude.
So yes, depression can be learned.
This canard about depression being a disease might, in fact, help some people who, wrongly, feel guilt about their condition.
"Oh, I have a disease, so I can't help it.
" It isn't a disease, of course, but they still can't help it.
Being depressed isn't their fault, as I pointed out at the beginning, but it's always worth repeating.
What tends to bear this out is the fact that some people can go through the most terrible experiences, but come out the other side without a trace of depression.
Others can live lives virtually problem-free and yet suffer from depression.
If we consider prisoners of war, like the poor chaps in the German Stalags, I'm sure that a lot of them did suffer from depression, but those who, assuming they'd had a normal childhood, busied themselves with plans for escape, thereby keeping their minds occupied, were in the main, depression free
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