💬 “When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” ~ Alexander Den Heijer 💬
As someone who was diagnosed with depression at an early age, I was told a common story: it was because of a chemical imbalance in my brain, I cannot help it, and medication is the primary go-to solution. At the time, medication was chosen because it was much cheaper and less time-consuming than therapy. It took less time and energy to focus on the solution. 👍
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I went through multiple medications, had many levels of doses, and even combined them at a point. The depression persisted, went in and out. But today I would no longer honestly say I consider myself “having depression”. But I wouldn’t say it was because of medication…😲
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Of course, I think it’s important to distinguish the difference between depression and everyday sadness, depression that is in fact stems from biological and genetic factors, and everyday sadness whose factors are far more complex, sadness that extends past the biological and also includes the psychological and sociological. 🤔
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I believe these distinctions are VERY important in a world where mental health continues to be an increasing concern. Suicide rates have continued to increased for 18 years straight. According to the World Health Organization, depression is now the leading cause of illness with an estimate of 300 MILLION people affected. The World Health Organization even mentions how mental health can be very much affected by our environment. I find it more than reasonable to say the current solutions we’re providing and their effectiveness be placed under further scrutiny. 🔎
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Despite this, I continue to hear the biological narrative more often than not as the primary cause. Much of this can be credited to our Western culture’s embrace of reductive physicalism, the idea that everything can be reduced down to its physical parts (biology, hormones, chemical reactions, neurotransmitters). It’s modern science, and I’ll add it’s fantastic we have individuals who are continually focused on these areas. They have great studies that show how our biology and genetics affect us (a great example is the story of Phineas Gage). 💯
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But what if there are other factors we aren’t taking as much consideration into?
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A few years ago I would’ve also been a part of the World Health Organizations’s statistics. I’m grateful to say I’m not anymore. But why? What changed in me to help with my depression?
👍 I started focusing on doing things in my life I was deeply passionate about.
👍 I started choosing to see problems as “gifts” I could learn from.
👍 I started challenging my own destructive habits. I quit drinking soda, coming from 3 to 4 cans a day. I started eating more plant-based foods. I started exercising. In turn I lost over 80 pounds.
👍 I started embracing the ideas of personal responsibility and self-reliance.
👍 I studied philosophy and saw there’s MANY more ways to look at life, including the definition of depression.
👍 I embraced a form of secular spirituality.
👍 I started meditating and becoming aware how my thoughts were controlling my life.
👍 I made it a daily habit to be grateful for something no matter how “bad” the day was.
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From what I can observe, it wasn’t an antidepressant that “cured” me of depression; it was many lifestyle changes that were meaningful and purposeful. It wasn’t seeing depression as a biological defect that helped me alleviate its symptoms; it was changing my perspective on depression, seeing it instead as signs telling me something in my life needed to change because it kept occurring. 😲
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Let me emphasize: I’m NOT against medication or antidepressants. What I’m expressing is my concern on the over-dependence of medication being unconsciously treated as the primary or only solution to our mental issues. They should definitely be an option, but not as a critic, it should also be known it is ONE OF MANY options. 👍
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Depression and mental health is a sensitive topic for a lot of people. A few years ago I would’ve been in the same boat as the people who will be critical of what I’m sharing with you now. A few years ago I would’ve rejected hearing my current arguments because it doesn’t sound reasonable. ❌
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It’s commonly accepted in our society to simply accept the “chemical imbalance” narrative which was heavily marketed way back when by pharmaceutical companies for antidepressants. I’ll add again: I’m NOT against antidepressants or even pharmaceutical companies for that matter. And I don’t ever plan on being in that camp. But I do believe there’s plenty of ADDITIONAL (and possibly even more effective) long-term options we should greatly consider implementing more of. 😊
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The question I ask to myself (and with anyone): what is the story I have been telling myself in the past about my pain and suffering? Do I believe it can ONLY be helped with medication? Are there other options that may require me to do more work but that I don’t want to take the time to do? It’s hard to consider other viewpoints when we’re attached to what we already believe and perceive as “true”. 🤔
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What if on the Nature/Nurture debate we’re spending too much time focused on the Nature explanations and spending too little time on the Nurture ones: our society, our environment, our peer groups, our politics, our poverty, our treatment of each other as human beings, etc?
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I don’t want more people suffering, and with change also needs to come new ideas. It’s something to think about…
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR READING:
Sam Harris’s Podcast: https://samharris.org/podcasts/142-addiction-depression-meaningful-life/
“Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression” by Johann Hari
