Are we depressed?

depressed?  Hmmmm.... I think alexithymia as Hergé outlines is an important consideration when talking about this.  Personally I think it plays a significant role for me.  In the run up to and post burnout especially... 

Difficulties in assessing others mental state and intentions is one thing - difficulties in assessing one's own is another side of the same coin.

From the perspective of "regulation" how easy is it to drive a car if you have little sense of what speed it is going, what gear it's in and which way the steering wheel is pointed and/or you can't see the point in driving the blessed car in the first place

The cross-over of alexithymia also being present in people with post traumatic stress disorders is worthy of note.  

So how would we know? How could we "own it" and work on it as Iain suggets?

If a quick self analysis of "am I depressed" doesn't work because of a neurophysiological basis then maybe making a more thoughtful analysis can work it out?

The symptoms of depression are (according to google :-) ):

• Lasting sad, anxious, or “empty” mood.
• Loss of interest in almost all activities.
• Appetite and weight changes.
• Changes in sleep patterns, such as inability to sleep or sleeping too much.

Then there's connecting the dots to things in our life that may be a factor in causing/resolving these...  identify the problem and do something about it....  might work?  regretfully we sometimes have very little real agency in the things that matter most to us or have impacted us the most :-(   - maybe that's why "special interests" end up being so important instead?

Anyway maybe there is a why and a how and with the right help and support...

But is that all the answer to why depression?  So I also asked the well known search engine what function depression has -

one angle is that It is "a means of yielding when there is social competition and thus reduces the efforts by the aggressor."

When getting angry isn't a practical solution and getting even isn't an option what's left?  Don't get mad get depressed perhaps?

"Another hypothesis is that the function of depression, and of low mood, is to make people accept unobtainable goals and so change those goals and It has also been proposed that it can lead to a conservation of energy in difficult circumstances."

well it seems to have that effect on me...  "reasonable adjustments" spring to mind...

another little search reveals:  "However, in the philosophical and sociological literature, it has been suggested that autism is also to some extent a 'social construct' that cannot merely be reduced to its biological explanation."

So are we depressed?

Personally I am yes - mostly because society as I experience it past and present is oppressive - not because I am autistic.

Fascinates me that so many people subscribe to these posts but so few comment - I reckon that repression is the biggest thing.

Repression refers to the act of bringing under control by force or the act of suppressing one's thoughts or feelings.   All that masking suppresses one's own thoughts and feelings perhaps....

Thanks for the question Crumble 

depressed?  Hmmmm.... I think alexithymia as Hergé outlines is an important consideration when talking about this.  Personally I think it plays a significant role for me.  In the run up to and post burnout especially... 

Difficulties in assessing others mental state and intentions is one thing - difficulties in assessing one's own is another side of the same coin.

From the perspective of "regulation" how easy is it to drive a car if you have little sense of what speed it is going, what gear it's in and which way the steering wheel is pointed and/or you can't see the point in driving the blessed car in the first place

The cross-over of alexithymia also being present in people with post traumatic stress disorders is worthy of note.  

So how would we know? How could we "own it" and work on it as Iain suggets?

If a quick self analysis of "am I depressed" doesn't work because of a neurophysiological basis then maybe making a more thoughtful analysis can work it out?

The symptoms of depression are (according to google :-) ):

• Lasting sad, anxious, or “empty” mood.
• Loss of interest in almost all activities.
• Appetite and weight changes.
• Changes in sleep patterns, such as inability to sleep or sleeping too much.

Then there's connecting the dots to things in our life that may be a factor in causing/resolving these...  identify the problem and do something about it....  might work?  regretfully we sometimes have very little real agency in the things that matter most to us or have impacted us the most :-(   - maybe that's why "special interests" end up being so important instead?

Anyway maybe there is a why and a how and with the right help and support...

But is that all the answer to why depression?  So I also asked the well known search engine what function depression has -

one angle is that It is "a means of yielding when there is social competition and thus reduces the efforts by the aggressor."

When getting angry isn't a practical solution and getting even isn't an option what's left?  Don't get mad get depressed perhaps?

"Another hypothesis is that the function of depression, and of low mood, is to make people accept unobtainable goals and so change those goals and It has also been proposed that it can lead to a conservation of energy in difficult circumstances."

well it seems to have that effect on me...  "reasonable adjustments" spring to mind...

another little search reveals:  "However, in the philosophical and sociological literature, it has been suggested that autism is also to some extent a 'social construct' that cannot merely be reduced to its biological explanation."

So are we depressed?

Personally I am yes - mostly because society as I experience it past and present is oppressive - not because I am autistic.

Fascinates me that so many people subscribe to these posts but so few comment - I reckon that repression is the biggest thing.

Repression refers to the act of bringing under control by force or the act of suppressing one's thoughts or feelings.   All that masking suppresses one's own thoughts and feelings perhaps....

Thanks for the question Crumble 

I have read this so many times it is compelling. I had never heard of alexithymia before it was raised on this topic so thank you Hergé  and Phased . This may be why the anti depressants don’t help

I found this very interesting