Posted by sar on June 9, 2001, at 11:12:13
In reply to Re: Can one think their way out of major depression?, posted by Phil on June 9, 2001, at 10:06:08
What do yall make of this? I've been turning it over in my head all week.
During our last appointment, my psychoanalyst told me that she thinks purely biological depression is relatively rare, and that personality disorder usually precedes depression, and that depression generally stems from maladaptive coping patterns (personality disorders are labels for groups of maladaptive coping patterns). Like Glenn, I've been depressed since I was a kid...which, in my psychoanalyst's opinion, would mean that I've almost always had maladaptive coping patterns.
I respect the diabetes analogy, but I just don't buy it completely. My thoughts at this moment are that depression is more like an inherited predisposition to obesity--you'll have to work like hell to keep the weight off, more so than the average person, & maybe you'll always be a bit chunky, but it *is* possible to beat it back...
(Caveat empor: I say all of this as a relatively young, severely depressed slim person.)
sar
poster:sar
thread:6363
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010526/msgs/6371.html