Double Plus UnGood Depression?
Thought you were just depressed? Well, maybe you are double depressed instead. Next will be double couches. Double sessions. Double delicious meds to chew. A double pleasure's waiting for you.
According to the article:
Which makes you wonder why they don't just call it Dysthymia, except that, perhaps, nobody knows how to pronounce it.
"Double Depression" is a terrible name for something that is seemingly less-severe than good old fashioned Depression. It seems, however, that this particular flavor of Depression has a sprig of hopelessness in the brew. Unlike major Depression, of course, which is apparently bubbling with hope by comparison.
I'm skeptical as well that "Double Depression" is a useful moniker. It says nothing of hopelessness, which is its defining characteristic, and it sounds like people have a double helping of Depression instead of Depression with a suffocating sidekick. I like to see research pursued in the realm of Depression, but I have to wonder if "Double Depression" is more of a gimmick than a real diagnosis.
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According to the article:
"[Double Depression] refers to chronic, less-severe depression (dysthymia) that worsens into major depression."
Which makes you wonder why they don't just call it Dysthymia, except that, perhaps, nobody knows how to pronounce it.
"Double Depression" is a terrible name for something that is seemingly less-severe than good old fashioned Depression. It seems, however, that this particular flavor of Depression has a sprig of hopelessness in the brew. Unlike major Depression, of course, which is apparently bubbling with hope by comparison.
I'm skeptical as well that "Double Depression" is a useful moniker. It says nothing of hopelessness, which is its defining characteristic, and it sounds like people have a double helping of Depression instead of Depression with a suffocating sidekick. I like to see research pursued in the realm of Depression, but I have to wonder if "Double Depression" is more of a gimmick than a real diagnosis.
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Comments
Depression per se isn't funny, but I try very hard to treat it lightly. I find giving into Depression just empowers the Depression. I'm for fighting it off with optimism, no matter how forced. I think I'm faring better than you are, my friend. I don't struggle with suicide anymore. Try making a conscious effort to lighten up. You have much more control over your moods than you give yourself credit for. Even on bad days, like the one I had on Friday, I can still shake off the sadness. It takes a lot of effort, but I can do it. I've spent too much time sad in the dark wishing I was dead while doped up by meds. I'd rather live.
Your definition of Double Depression is at odds with the definition proposed by the folks in the linked article. Their comments are what I was responding to, not the thoughts in your head. Did you read the article? You might have actually have agreed with me if you had.
"I've felt this way most of my life, all 50+ years of it. I frequently wish I'd never been born. If there were a quick & painless way to commit suicide, I'd have been gone long ago."
This is truly tragic. Here I am offering you a way to be free of all that and you get angry and hostile with me instead. Mind over mood. You have the power to be free of the sadness. Start off slowly. I used to lose months of my life at a time in a Depressed fog. With effort over the years I shortened that to weeks, then days, now hours. I still suffer from Depression, but I no longer allow it to rule my life. I hope that someday I can get my Depressive episodes down to minutes. I wish you the same kind of success.
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Hopefully, I'll have more Utah landscapes up before the end of the summer. I'm hoping to get out to Antelope Island soon, but home schooling has started up and I may not be able to pull it off. Wish me luck.
1) Patients who suffer from chronic dysthymia (low-level depressed mood) take longer to recover from major depressive episodes than patients with major depression without dysthymia. Am J Psychiatry. 2006 May;163(5):872-80.
2) This article didn't find any difference between types of chronic depression (including double), but the difference between chronic and acute or episodic depression (with full interepisodic recovery) is large and predicts differences in treatment response and longterm prognosis. J Abnorm Psychol. 2003 Nov;112(4):614-22.
3) In this study, hopelessness (in MDD, not double) correlated with a worse treatment response to Prozac. Obviously, I don't know if this is true for double depression as well. Ann Clin Psychiatry. 2007 Jan-Mar;19(1):5-8
Just hoping to shed a little more light on the subject. Love your blog!
It is possible my beef with "Double Depression" stems in part from the poor write up of it. However, at the time of the article I could not find information to back up the statements made in the article or by the researchers in question (Not on the web at any rate). This led me to believe I was reading their personal interpretation of DD.
I agree with you on point #2. All depressions are not the same and shouldn't be treated the same.
However, I still think it is a silly and non-descriptive name. ;)
Thanks for posting. I love hearing from differing viewpoints when they are as intelligently voiced as yours was. Hope to see you around the blog more often.
~Douglas
The term double depression makes sence to me because the dysthymia dosen't disappear or turn into the major depression. Both are there at the same time and working through one dosen't seem to fix the other. The dysthymia (for me) is simple emotional dumbness which is a constant part of life. When the major depression sets in anxiety, frustration, and helplessness goes through the roof, but the numbness is still there.
With consistant exercise and a careful diet my brother seems to have worked through both (he rock climbs, snowboards, hikes, that is when he's not working as a stone mason). I can control mine with daily meditation and high impact yoga practices but have never been without some level of emotional numbness.
I think it's wonderful that you and your family have found ways to regulate your moods through immersive exercise or meditation. All that dedication pays off with a positive quality of life. Good for you!