Depression

The other night, ABC television, on ‘Australian Story’ detailed the sad case of a young, attractive and obviously very talented TV journalist, who through a tragic (yet avoidable) set of circumstances, ended up by taking her own life. I am talking about Charmaine Dragun, a Perth girl, who worked for Channel 10.

Now as I see it there are three parts to this unhappy event.

Firstly: it was her choice to take her own life – tragic though it was, no one forced her to. As she saw her life, where she was at that moment, her circumstances and what she saw as her future was all too much for her to bear. That is the really sad part because for every (perceived) problem there is a solution. Life has its ups and downs. That is life, but it is how you perceive the ups or downs, that creates the problem for you. The same or similar circumstances may be a problem for you but not even a minor irritation me – we all have a different outlook on the world and different hopes and aspirations. All Miss Dragun needed was someone to talk to; someone she could trust and who she knew would not judge her one way or the other, to let her unburden her soul.

Secondly: The psychologist who persuaded her to stop all medication has a great deal to answer for. The drugs usually prescribed are powerful and have varying long term effects. To stop taking them suddenly is asking for trouble. If someone feels they must, by all means reduce the intake of the drugs over a period of weeks – but not over-night.

Thirdly: My pet subject – drugs for (what is wrongly called) mental ‘illness’. There is no biological test for depression. A blood sample from a depressed person, when analysed, will not reveal ‘depression’ – there is no such animal. Drugs may help alleviate the immediate effects of depression, but long term use causes another set of problems – principally because psychiatrists have no idea why people get depressed, nor do they know why drugs work the way they do. In this case the girl in question was twenty-nine years old, so she had that period of time to get her mind (note I do not use the word brain) and her thoughts to view the world in a way that caused her to have a negative outlook and so she became ‘depressed’. She could see no light, no joy and for her, no future.

Psychiatrists confuse the brain with the mind and yet the ‘mind’ (or consciousness) is not the brain. The brain is made up from cells and the cells perform functions in the brain. The cells apparently co-operate to enable us to operate our body, to memorise, and generally pass messages around. This is basically a biological function. It is not possible for the ‘brain’ to tell itself what to do, for the individual cells (that make up the brain) to tell themselves which functions they are to perform. This is the ‘mind’ (or consciousness) in operation. We can ‘transform’ ourselves and become a better (or worse) person. This cannot be measured! The ‘mind’ is creative; the brain is a ‘processor’.

The point is that depression has no known biological or organic basis for diagnosis. It is not a medical “disease” and it is not proven to have a genetic basis (see Myers D.G. “Psychology”, 2008; Dr. Craig Hassed, “New Frontiers in Medicine”, 2000; Dr Terry Lynch, “Beyond Prozac” 2nd edition, 2004; Dr Dorothy Lowe, “Depression” 3rd edition 2006; and also Wikipedia). Diagnosis is based on self reported experiences and observed behaviour (American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-IV-TR lists the various criteria). On what scientific basis therefore were the drugs prescribed?

Psychiatrists just do not know! They are trying to do the impossible, to integrate subjectivity (what is in the mind, or consciousness) which objectivity (what can be seen and measured), then prescribe drugs based on their diagnosis. Is this right and is it ethical?

It seems to me and I, very obviously, do not have all the details of this case, that this unfortunate girl was treated rather shabbily by those who should have known better. The mind is a fragile instrument and I for one, am awestruck by this wonderful instrument that we all have. Pumping drugs into it is never going to provide a long term solution to depression.

Thinking a certain way gets a person into a depressed state, so thinking in a different way will get them out of that depressed state.

I know because I have done it – without any drugs. And I am just a very ordinary bloke.