Posted by Scott L. Schofield on January 13, 2000, at 22:15:23
In reply to The depressing thing about depression, posted by Abby on January 11, 2000, at 21:09:23
> I was sitting at my computer reading thew Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health.
> I was feeling blah--somewhat depressed, able to receive information, but not feeling up
> to creating (i.e. writing) anything. It's the kind of
> feeling where you don't realize how bad it is until it
> gets better. I felt guilty for feeling bad about how I
> felt, because it should not have been that bad etc.
>
>
> So, in the section on brain structure and function, I
> was reading about how chronic stress and depression may
> permanently damage the hippocampus, that the dendrites
> of the neurons actually atrophy. It's one thing to think
> that your chemicals are off; it's quite another to think
> that part of your brain is no good.
>
> I thought, oh my god, I'm doomed. And then about an hour
> later I laughed at myself. Feeling guilty about having
> been depressed in the past obviously meant that I was mildly
> depressed. That, if anything, would only make whatever
> brain damage I'd already experienced worse. So, I
> resolved to quit worrying and laugh at the absurdity
> of it all.You don't have to worry about worrying about your damaged hippocampus. You'll forget about it in no time.
- Scott
poster:Scott L. Schofield
thread:18752
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000112/msgs/18912.html