Depression Myth!

[thronemia]

Working will make a depression disappear. Focusing on something else may be distracting enough to eat a minor case of the "blues"; but overworking may be a symptom of depression.
Depression is not considered a "real" medical illness. This is not only a false statement, but it can be dangerous to not believe that depression is a serious medical condition that there is a chemical imbalance in the brain.

[time2reclaim]

I wish more people who didn't experience depression would at least understand what it is. I've been there.

[Dahila]

thronemia, it will help to distract one with anxiety attack, not depression. Depression is a serious disease and if you do not had it or have it, it is difficult to understand what one goes through. I have been there, and I know depression first hand. Time3reclaim, welcome to the forum :)

[time2reclaim]

Thank you Dahila

[Ahlstrom]

I worked on a ranch for a year. The physical strain and the fact that I had a purpose everyday helped my DEPRESSION very much (not a minor case of the blues). I'm at odds with your comment, as different things work differently for different people... for me, the core of my depression was basically that I had no job/purpose and had to sit around all day.

[Kuma]

I think Alstrom has it exactly right. Depression (like anxiety) is not monolithic. What works for one person may not work for another -- even if their diagnoses are identical.

I am certain that engagement in work, and distraction, can help some people overcome their depression, and I am equally certain that for others it would not do the trick. (And there are some with depression so severe that they are not able to work). Depression would be a lot easier to deal with if there were a one-size-fits-all solution. Sadly, there isn't.

Also, the notion that depression results from a chemical imbalance in the brain, which one of you alluded to above, is controversial. Even among experts, some believe it, some don't. This is related in some ways to the raging debate about whether SSRIs are an effective treatment for depression -- or any more effective than a placebo.