Multiple articles, including a meta-analysis, came out last the summer that squashed the ‘maybe it’s not me’ argument around depression.
Despite the popularity of the “chemical imbalance” theory of depression, scientists say there is no clear evidence that serotonin levels or serotonin activity cause depression.
Here’s the link to the meta-study.
So I think it’s a combination of two things — SAFETY/COMFORT LEVEL and PERSPECTIVE.
SAFETY AND COMFORT
When was the last time you saw a depressed man that didn’t have food, shelter, and safety all accounted for?
Feeling depressed is a luxury belief — one that’s built from comfort.
Try feeling depressed when you’re freezing out in the cold, or when your children’s hunger pangs are so severe that they can’t even sleep at night. Try feeling depressed when a bear is chasing you or… better yet, when you’re fighting for your life!
Thoughts and feelings are a function of the parasympathetic nervous system, which means that only within the ‘safety of the cave’ can we lose ourselves to words and emotions.
You can’t out-think over-thinking; you can’t feel your way out of emotional bondage.
PERSPECTIVE
Only action can override thinking and emotion. The will to live is also, inherently, the will to succeed.
Now, we all understand and accept the power of the placebo effect as scientific fact. If you honestly, deep-down, think your life sucks — then it most-likely will.
Is the cup half-full or half-empty? Cogito er sum. Your attitude determines your latitude!
Why do you think these cliches have stood the test of time?
I personally believe Van Gogh said it best — “To suffer without complaint is the only lesson we have to learn in this life”. Which means there’s nothing unique about personal suffering. Women may be the more vulnerable sex, but men are certainly the more disposable sex. A man’s honor is rooted in his willingness to go off-to-war; not whether he comes back alive.
Let that sink in…
Society was not constructed to excuse a man’s struggles. Instead, it was constructed to reward a man’s usefulness. Useful makes strong, and strong makes happy.
