Are You Feeling Depressed?

Your Darkest Days Might Have a Bright Side

I think I was depressed for most of my life, until a few years ago. The lowest point hit when I was in my Emergency Medicine residency, just under ten years ago. The days felt so black, and the future felt so empty, that I couldn't see any point to continuing. I actually considered taking my own life, on a regular basis. I was sure that there was something biologically wrong with me. After all, depression was genetic, right? Even worse, I was still miserable even though I was taking anti-depressants. You can imagine how excited I was about the future. What future?

That was ten years ago, when it was still pretty unusual to be on anti-depressants. Today, they're the number one drug class prescribed in the United States, can you believe it?

Is everyone really this depressed, or have we somehow started calling normal life experiences "depression"? Is there something about Western life that sets us up for disappointment and depression? Or is there more to this, still?

I've mentioned before that research tells us that we've got the whole money/happiness thing wrong. People chase after money for a lifetime, putting it ahead of everything else, and then feel like they've been cheated when they sit in their huge house in front of their stadium-sized plasma TV, and feel the same, or worse, than they did when they were penniless and struggling. Certainly, the misguided pursuit of money and stuff, while neglecting what really counts, must be contributing at least in part to our culture's epidemic of depression.

So what really counts? Your family, your friends, your health, your own generosity and kindness, your values and ethics. So, if you're feeling depressed, does that mean that you've got your priorities all wrong? Perhaps. Try spending more time with loved ones, and helping others, as these actions have been shown to significantly improve symptoms of depression.