Where We Live: Tis The Season... For Depression
Tis the season for joy and merriment… but also stress, darkness and bitter cold!
Tis the season for joy and merriment… but also stress, darkness and bitter cold!
Americans are now ten times more likely to become depressed than they were just a couple generations ago. Psychologist Stephen Ilardi says this doesn’t make sense since we’ve seemingly got everything we could ever want.
But Ilardi argues that humans aren’t designed for a post-industrial world -sedentary, indoor, poorly nourished, sleep-deprived, socially isolated. He suggests we get back to our evolutionary roots to beat depression – without using drugs.
Today, where we live, we’ll explore the connection between sunlight and mood. Do you tend to want to sleep, eat and nest during the long cold winter?
And a Vanderbilt researcher says that what month a baby is born can have a dramatic and lifelong effect on the functioning of their biological clocks, including a higher risk of depression.
Send to friend
Printer-friendly version
Comments
Listener Email from Andrew
I had been suffering depression for about six months a few years ago when I attended a demonstration of Zen meditation. I tried the exercise that the Zen abbot was leading, and experienced the first break in the darkness in all that time. I didn't meditate regularly after that, although I do now, but it may have saved my life.
Listener Email from Andrew
My brothers and my dad and I have ADD. But I've found that my dad is not open to acceptance and treatment. He's vigilant about treating his colitis, but doesn't see the reality if mental health care. Seems generational. Thoughts?
Listener Email from Peter
I am in my mid-50's and have been under treatment for depression since my early 30's. Since being diagnosed, it has been well-controlled with medication.
One serious problem with implementing an approach like that of your guests is the disconnect that has developed between the M.D. community and the Ph.D. community.
In my experience, today's psychiatric model is focused entirely on one thing: what drug to prescribe and in what dose. Talk and behavioral therapy has become an extremely distant secondary consideration and is sometimes treated dismissively. There is very little emphasis on it, and very little coordination and communication between the two.
Listener Email from Wendy
I have had problems with major depression for many years and have done all the "right" things, including exercising regularly, taking Omega 3 oil, many years of psychotherapy, using SSRI medication, and utilizing my light box. I still have episodes that throw me for a loop, especially when the daylight begins to rapidly change in the fall and spring. Please remind your listeners that some of us are doing all we can and still have difficulty. Sometimes, I feel like I'm being told I'm just not doing enough.
Post new comment