Who Knows???

In our discussion of mental and emotional disorders, several possible causes of depression and anxiety were examined.  In my evening section of the intro course, some students said they felt that chemical imbalances were the culprit(s) behind feeling blue, apprehensive, or uptight. Others felt that it was simply a question of mind over matter and that a person could and should discipline herself to think only positive thoughts. Christine stated that in her opinion, depression had to do with what was going on in someone’s life and that as time went on, he would “get over it.”

What do you think? Humans are indeed complex creatures, and while there are no easy answers to the causes of depression, anxiety, or any other emotional disorders, that doesn’t mean that we should shrug our shoulders and say, “Who knows?”

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, has this to say: “What a large number of factors constitute a single human being! How very many layers we operate on, and how very many influences we receive from our minds, our bodies, our histories, our families, our cities, our souls and our lunches! I came to feel that my depression was probably some ever-shifting assortment of all those factors, and probably also include some stuff I couldn’t name or claim.”

Do you agree with her? Disagree? Just what do you think about the causes of depression?