They're all about, mood lifters, antidepressants. It's a huge industry, and it seems everyone's taking them, nearly 20 million Americans. Depression, once a closet illness, a source of shame even, is regarded as just another malady, akin perhaps to acid reflux, to be treated with a pill.
But what if we've got it all wrong? What if depression--can we imagine?--offers real benefits to the sufferer in the long term?
That’s the argument being made by one British researcher, Paul Keedwell.
Keedwell's approach is an interesting one: a look at depression through history. Rather than being a modern affliction, as so many think, depression can be traced as far back as Palaeolithic times.
The question Keedwell raises is this: How is it that such a disabling ailment has managed to last through the evolutionary process, surviving where other less desirable traits were weeded out?
The answer is that depression serves a real purpose. In a new book, "How Sadness Survived,” which will be published this month in the U.S., Keedwell argues that depression is actually a complicated defense mechanism that's evolved to help people deal with the setbacks in their lives. Think of it as taking time out, or a resting period.
“I am trying to demystify depression by pointing out this is an ancient and universal condition that humans are prone to. And in the main, depression is an episode, and there is life after depression,” says Keedwell, a specialist in depression at the Institute of Psychiatry in London.
Depression works by helping take the sufferer out of the situation that is causing persistent stress, which tend to arise when we chase after futile, unobtainable goals.
Keedwell believes depression is increasingly common. One out of four of us is likely to suffer from it at some point.
But while depression is a painful and disabling condition, when people recover they often look at life in a different way. The period of depression helps them refocus on life’s fundamentals, things like esteem, a sense of belonging, intimacy and procreation. Says Keedwell: “They have a new focus on fundamental needs that they many have hitherto ignored."
The sufferer becomes more resilient and empathetic.
It can also spur creative thought. Keedwell points out that Michelangelo, Winston Churchill and the famous philosopher John Stuart Mill all had depressive episodes.
But while depression may have evolved to help humans, Keedwell wonders whether it's particularly suited for the modern world. One reason is that it's increasingly difficult to take time out, as one might have in an earlier time.
“So depression might have stopped working in the way it used to. You just get stuck in it,” says Keedwell.
But another concern is the over-use of medication.
Certainly, medication can be essential in severe cases of depression, but in most common cases medication alone eases the symptoms without addressing the underlying causes. The person may rise out of the depression without ever making the necessary life changes.
“There is more likelihood then that you will slip back into it when you come off the medication,” says Keedwell. “Those that might depend too much on pharmacological solutions to life problems may never fully escape from the problems.”
Meanwhile, elsewhere in popcult, the special effects-laced epic “10,000 B.C.” was first at the box office over the weekend, bringing in $35.7 million. The new comedy “College Road Trip” was second, bringing in $14.0 million in ticket sales.
In DVD rentals for the week ended March 2, according to IMDb.com, the new release “Beowulf” debuted at No. 1, while last week’s leader “American Gangster” fell to No. 2.
On iTunes this morning, Usher’s “Love in this Club” fell out of No. 1 after just a week on top, giving way to “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley.
And in books, Valerie Bertinelli’s new tell-all “Losing It” debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times’ hardcover nonfiction best-sellers list for the week ended March 1, and also came in at No. 2 on USA Today’s book chart for the week ended March 2.
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TOP MOVIES
Weekend Box Office Estimates
Weekend of March 7-9, 2008
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|
Rank
|
MOVIE
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Engagements
|
Box office (millions)
|
|
1
|
10,000 B.C. (Warner Bros.)
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3,410
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$35.73
|
|
2
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College Road Trip (
Buena Vista)
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2,706
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$14.00
|
|
3
|
Vantage Point (Sony)
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3,163
|
$7.50
|
|
4
|
Semi-Pro (New Line)
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3,121
|
$5.90
|
|
5
|
The Bank Job (Lionsgate)
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1,603
|
$5.71
|
|
6
|
The Spiderwick Chronicles (
Paramount)
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3,246
|
$4.80
|
|
7
|
The Other Boleyn Girl (Sony)
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1,167
|
$4.00
|
|
8
|
Jumper (Fox)
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2,563
|
$3.75
|
|
9
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Step Up 2 the Streets (
Buena Vista)
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2,251
|
$3.05
|
|
10
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Fool’s Gold (Warner Bros.)
|
2,322
|
$2.80
|
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Source: Yahoo Movies
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IMDb TOP DVD RENTALS
Week ending March 2, 2008
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|
Rank
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TITLE
|
Last week
|
|
1
|
Beowulf
|
-
|
|
2
|
American Gangster
|
1
|
|
3
|
Michael Clayton
|
2
|
|
4
|
30 Days of Night
|
-
|
|
5
|
Gone Baby Gone
|
3
|
|
6
|
We Own the Night
|
4
|
|
7
|
Rendition
|
5
|
|
8
|
The Darjeeling Limited
|
-
|
|
9
|
Death at a Funeral
|
-
|
|
10
|
In the
Valley of
Elah
|
7
|
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Source: IMDB
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|
ITUNES TOP 8 SONG DOWNLOADS
for week ended Monday, March 10, 2008
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|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
|
1
|
Hallelujah, Jeff Buckley
|
|
2
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Love In This Club, Usher feat. Young Jeezy
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|
3
|
Love Song, Sara Bareilles
|
|
4
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No Air, Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown
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|
5
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Low, Flo Rida feat. T-Pain
|
|
6
|
Don’t Stop the Music, Rihanna
|
|
7
|
See You Again, Miley Cyrus
|
|
8
|
With You, Chris Brown
|
|
Source: iTunes
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|
NEW YORK
TIMES BESTSELLING BOOKS
Week ending March 1, 2008
|
|
Fiction (hardback)
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
Last week
|
Weeks on chart
|
|
1
|
The Appeal by John Grisham
|
1
|
5
|
|
2
|
Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
|
-
|
1
|
|
3
|
7th Heaven by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
|
3
|
4
|
|
4
|
Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb
|
2
|
2
|
|
5
|
The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison
|
-
|
1
|
|
Nonfiction (hardback)
|
|
1
|
Losing It by Valerie Bertinelli
|
-
|
1
|
|
2
|
Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg
|
1
|
8
|
|
3
|
Beautiful Boy by David Sheff
|
-
|
1
|
|
4
|
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
|
2
|
9
|
|
5
|
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
|
5
|
2
|
|
Fiction (paperback)
|
|
1
|
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
|
2
|
6
|
|
2
|
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
|
3
|
4
|
|
3
|
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
|
1
|
16
|
|
4
|
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
|
4
|
26
|
|
5
|
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
|
-
|
17
|
|
Nonfiction (paperback)
|
|
1
|
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
|
1
|
58
|
|
2
|
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
|
2
|
57
|
|
3
|
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
|
3
|
10
|
|
4
|
Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama
|
4
|
85
|
|
5
|
90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey
|
5
|
71
|
|
Source: New York Times
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
USA
TODAY BESTSELLING BOOKS
Week ending March 2, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
Last week
|
|
1
|
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
|
1
|
|
2
|
Losing It by Valerie Bertinelli
|
-
|
|
3
|
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
|
5
|
|
4
|
Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
|
-
|
|
5
|
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
|
4
|
|
6
|
The Appeal by John Grisham
|
3
|
|
7
|
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
|
7
|
|
8
|
Star Wars Legacy of the Force: Revelation by Karen Traviss
|
-
|
|
9
|
Honor Thyself by Danielle Steel
|
-
|
|
10
|
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney
|
8
|
|
Source:
USA Today
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