Depression is a common and debilitating affliction amongst humans, which makes it tragic that we know so little about it. We know that depression can arrive seemingly out of nowhere. We know that it can be driven by hormone shifts or brain injury or nutrient deficiencies. We know that medicine really does very little to help it, despite the millions of people taking such medicines. What do we know that is helpful to you when you feel depressed?
On one level, I admit we know next to nothing about depression. It is one thing to try medications, perform brain scans, and test your blood. It is quite another to really understand the human condition called depression.
I like things simple. I like the utter simplicity of Rational Emotive Therapy, for example. I also like simple explanations for human problems. What follows is my very simple, though speculative, explanation.
First the obvious: Humans are mammals. We have more complex brains and more complex emotions. We can think. Thinking is a great advancement in the evolution of animal life. It is also a burden. Humans are uniquely able to think themselves into a tailspin in the light of uncomfortable realities. So how do these facts fit together for me when I treat depression?
What if depression is a defense mechanism? Powerful animals such as bears hibernate in the deep of winter to stay safe from the elements. They fatten up first. Their vital signs depress, and they basically sleep off the inhospitable conditions, consuming all that stored fat.
