depression bad on the brain.

[hypervalent_iodine]

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Moderator Note

I don't think we need to continue dragging this off topic by specifically addressing seriously disabled's post. As a science discussion forum populated by people from all walks of life, we are not equipped to provide medical advice. This absolutely extends to issues surrounding mental health. 

 

[Damateur]

On 4/17/2017 at 6:59 PM, MonDie said:

The only condition I know to be related to interest in science is the autism spectrum, which is still not described all that well and seems to have broader and narrower conceptualizations. Some argue that, in addition to Asperger's syndrome and autistic disorder, the spectrum should also include Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD) or even Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. It has been conceptualized as three-dimensional: social deficits, verbal ability deficits, and repetitive behaviors & restricted interests. I am not sure exactly which explains the interest in science. Being less interested in social behavior and less affected by peer pressure, perhaps they prefer concrete subject matters to the socially derived trivialities of small talk: fashion trends, fictional media, gossip, etc. They are more prone to depression, but I am not sure how this would be related, but both depression and autism appear to be connected with oxytocinergic abnormalities that impair the capacity to enjoy social interaction.

   The italicized portion is close. Science and other fact-based subjects provide a welcome relief from the mine-field of social interaction.

   The bold portion is incorrect. Being on the autism spectrum - at least for me - means not being able to read facial expressions or body language even after trying to study how to do it. It is not a matter of not being interested in social behavior, it is a matter of not being capable of participating fully in social situations and when it is attempted often doing something wrong. So people with an ASD are more affected by peer pressure as we struggle to fit in. Those problems lead to anxiety and depression. It is often easier to be a wall-flower and just watch (thus making fewer mistakes and suffering less humiliation) than it is to participate.

   While having Asperger's caused some of my problems, I think it also helped me find solutions. I was depressed and considering suicide in my teens so I researched suicide and wrote a paper on it for school. It helped me see that if I was trying to scream for help (pills or other slower methods with someone around) then failure could be either death or life with the scream being ignored. I also saw that even if I was trying to end my life (quicker methods with no one around) then failure wasn't just living but potentially living with a serious permanent physical disability: paraplegia, quadriplegia, etc. Also, actually ending my life would mean never being able to enjoy even the little things I did enjoy sometimes - all those possibilities went away forever.
   I realized that all the changes we undergo throughout life - dating, breaking-up, breaking a limb, going blind, recovering one's hearing, becoming quadriplegic - all of those were almost nothing compared to the change we would experience with death (I thought there was an afterlife at the time). So the death-change would alter a person so much that what we enjoyed in life would not matter in the same way - if at all.

   So I've gone on living, enjoying what I can. Humor helps a lot. I used to play Starcraft as the Zerg imagining all the Terrans I was killing were the annoying people in my life - I really loved creating a multi-species force so I could use any unit I wanted although I had my favorites. (Multiple nukes in close succession on the same point was always fun.) Now I have other games for mayhem.

   Find what works for you.

Edited August 9, 2017 by Damateur

[Itoero]

Depression is pretty strongly related to oxidative stress....which makes the brain to age more quickly.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3964745/

There is the Free Radical Theory Of Aging. This theory states that aging and its related diseases are the consequence of free radical-induced damage to cellular macromolecules and the inability to counterbalance these changes by endogenous anti-oxidant defenses. Most free radicals are reactive oxygen species. (ROS)            https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK3869/