depression – Harmonia Philosophica

Materialism. The poison of our age.

Scientists “discovering” the source of things in… things…

Depression’s physical source seems to be discovered, or at least this is what some scientists claim. Thanks to new research the understanding of the physical root of depression has been advanced since researchers have identified the lateral orbitofrontal cortex as the area of the brain affected by depression. The human medial (reward-related, OFC13) and lateral (non-reward-related, OFC47/12) orbitofrontal cortex networks show different functional connectivity in patients with depression. This discovery could open up possible new treatments, say the researchers. (1)

Scientists find new genetic roots of schizophrenia: Using a recently developed technology for analyzing DNA, scientists have found dozens of genes and two major biological pathways that are likely involved in the development of the disorder but had not been uncovered in previous genetic studies of schizophrenia. (2)

Materialism. The dogma which has poisoned our age.

We have always been afraid to grow up.

We have always been afraid to have free will.

We always wanted to be machines.

We always wanted to be nothing.

Be careful what you wish.

It usually comes true…

And through this example of exertion of free will, humans managed to actually become machines, thus proving that matter is not only illusive but can be actually manipulated by the mind and the mind alone.

Take a look at that rock.

It is not a rock…

Ghosts… Depression… A dead God. The unseen problems of a “progressed” world…

It is exactly α hundred years since Sigmund Freud set pen to paper to write his groundbreaking paper Mourning and Melancholia. Published in 1917, Freud distinguished between two responses to loss: mourning, when the object of loss is clear and obvious, and thus can be emotionally processed; and melancholia, a state of being in which one is affected by a loss that one is unable to name. This state of melancholia is often associated with depression. [1]

And melancholia is often associated with depression, the plague which affects almost 1 in every 5 people today in developed countries. [source]

The dead refuse to stay dead. Only by re-membering the dead would melancholia be converted into plain old mourning. [1] Or even a re-birth.

Nietsche said it a long time ago: God is dead.

Could our distance from Him be the reason for our melancholia?

All we have to do know is accept it and rediscover Him.

Because he DID die. For us. Not now. A long long time ago…

Depression. Happiness. Two sides of the same coin.

Having friends who suffer from depression doesn’t affect the mental health of others, according to research led by the University of Warwick. The academics found that having friends can help teenagers recover from depression or even avoid becoming depressed in the first instance.

The findings are the result of a study of the way teenagers in a group of US high schools influenced each others’ mood. The academics used a mathematical model to establish if depression spreads from friend to friend.

Professor Frances Griffiths, head of social science and systems in health at Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, said: “Depression is a major public health concern worldwide. But the good news is we’ve found that a healthy mood amongst friends is linked with a significantly reduced risk of developing and increased chance of recovering from depression”.

In other words: Happiness spreads but depression does not. (1)

Being happy means opening to the cosmos.

Being depressed means being closed to your self.

But your self is the cosmos.

But opening to the cosmos makes your self disappear.

You cannot avoid the Cosmos.

One way or the other, you are it.

There is nothing to spread.

You are already part of it.

The 90% to the 1% – Logical and fair…

90% of the world’s anti-depression medications is consumed by 1% of the world’s population… Oups. My bad. I wanted to say that the 90% of the world’s wealth is owned by 1% of the world’s population…

Wait a minute… Isn’t that the same? 🙂 😛 😉

Without money, but really happy… [Greece 1950’s]

sFRP3 and Being sad (a good thing?)

Mice lacking a protein called DKK1 develop more new neurons (right) compared with controls (left).

Scientist discovered how antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive therapy works. They found out that these therapy methods reduce the Secreted frizzled-related protein 3 (sFRP3), which is in turn an inhibitor to the creation of new neurons in our brain. (1, 2, 3)

This same protein increases in our body as we get older, thus playing also a role in diseases like Alzheimer. Protein DKK1 also plays a similar role. (4)

Strange. Is it in our Nature to die and get more depressed?

Wow.

If depression is such an integral part of our life, maybe it is a good thing? Could we have overlooked such an important aspect of our existence?

I am leaving now. I am going to go sad…