depression

Jan 18 2012

Is Depression worth it?

I read a very interesting article in the New York Times. It investigated a question I’ve asked for a long time: Is there an evolutionary advantage to depression? In other words, why is it still around? Does its hanging around confer an advantage to live stronger lives? Because of my bipolar disorder, I’ve lived with bone jarring depression most of my life. It’s dark, miserable, can decrease life spans, and wreaks havoc in almost all areas of a sufferers life. Is depression worth it?

I won’t bore you with the details of the article here, but I encourage you to read it. When all was said and done the conclusion stated that even if depression did give us some sort of advantage as human beings, it doesn’t make it any more desirable than other maladies such as cancer and heart disease. I concur.

Depression is an expert in wringing out hope from your life and knows exactly how to decimate one’s confidence and self-esteem. It’s all about suffering. It strains relationships and stalls careers. I have to work everyday to free myself from its persistent grasp. But I’m not alone. I have an amazing wife and family; fantastic friends, a God who cares, and the gift of treatment options that weren’t available even five years ago.  I am learning to thrive. It’s what I have to do everyday. It’s what we all have to do. It’s what we all need to do.

Given the massive disruptions of our modern world, depression is only going to increase. According to the World Health Organization depression is the leading cause of disability and projected to be the second leading contributor to the global burden of disease. It’s debilitating. Does its increasing prevalence portend some hidden asset to help us through the human condition? Is it setting us up for some kind of big breakthrough? I don’t think so.

But ask me if bipolar and its depression has been worth it for me, nine times out of ten I will give you a resounding, unequivocal NO! But there is that one time, the affirmative answer that haunts me. Despite its cruelty, depression has connected me to the deep angst of people’s pain and  compelled me to be thankful for every moment it’s not around. Though I desperately want it out of my life, it has given me the passion to “re-imagine a hope-filled world”. That’s my big why. It’s my desire for every keynote I give, training I conduct, and relationship I have. Maybe depression has set me up to be uniquely relevant and useful in this shaken, uncertain, and disruptive world. Curious that.

By Jeff Vankooten • adaptation, Attitude, depression, Depth, despair, Hope, resilience • 3 • Tags: , ,

Mar 7 2011

Why depression will persist

I've often wondered what evolutionary purpose depression serves. Its been around as long as the human race has walked this earth. Because it has persisted so long and has not been phased out, it must be beneficial to our survival right?. But why?

When I'm in its throes, I don't considered my depression as beneficial to my life. Even its effects on my life have been challenging: It has stalled my life vocationally, strained relationships, and done a real number on my self-esteem. Yet reluctantly I believe it must persist. It must not be eradicated fully.  Here are my reasons:

  1. In order to experience the full spectrum of human emotion, depression must be part of the mix. You cannot define happiness unless you can reference it to sadness. The reverse is also true.
  2. It slows us down and causes us to ponder the deeper issues of humanity. Most of the great poetry and artisitic confrontation with the world has been birthed in the depressed heart of the artist.  It gives the existential questions of life an honest hearing.
  3. Enjoyment of life is fully seized. Because of my depression, I am much more intentional about making my life truly significant. Time with my kids and wife and others is rarely squandered in my better moments.  I gotta seize the day.
  4. Depression makes us empathetic to the pain of others. People who have experienced deep depression can resonate deeply with another's pain, no matter how intense. It provides comfort and consolation.
  5. It inspires us to make the needed changes to make our world a better place. There is much about our society and world that is less than inspiring (you know intuitively what they are). In fact they can be downright depressing. Confronting the tough issues and helping to transform our world so they no longer drag down the heart is essential for a better world and a movement toward a meaningful future.

As much as I dread the moment of agony I know will come again, I persist in the belief that its gotta be good for my soul – and so I carry on…

By Jeff Vankooten • adaptation, Attitude, creativity, Current Affairs, depression, Depth, despair • 1 • Tags: , ,

Aug 9 2010

What this recession will do

This current recession is a doozie and there is talk of it either
progressing into what is either called a "double-dip", a full blown depression,
or a long slow slog to recovery. It's bad either way you look at it. Those coming of age in anemic economies have lower salaries as adults compared to those who grew up in good economic times. This has to do with risk aversion. They are conditioned to play it safe.

I have been greatly impacted by this recession.  Speaking gigs are few and far between and my current position as an interim pastor will conclude very soon. There is the looming threat of unemployment for the first time in my life. It scares me. After all, I have a wife and three children to provide for.  But I am not alone. A report in March from the Population Reference Bureau showed that more
than 70 percent of Americans age 40 and over felt they had been affected
by the economic crisis. Government data indicate that the net worth of
the average American household has shrunk by about 20 percent — the
greatest such decline since the end of World War II. Long-term
unemployment — joblessness lasting six months or more — is also at its
highest level since the mid-1940s. According to recent data from the
Rockefeller Institute, 20 percent of Americans have seen their available
household income decline by 25 percent or more. 

It's crunch time…

What might the impact of this historic moment have on our lives in the future? Here are some of my predictions (I'll try to explore more as I have time to ponder):

  • Frugality and Thriftiness will become much more a way of life. These are good things as they put our lives in a perspective of stewardship. In my generational presentations I mention that the oldest generation known as the "Matures" (born prior to 1946) are identified by frugality and thriftiness. I remember how engrained this was in the very fabric of my grandparents lives. It never really went away. This derives from the formative experience of the Great Depression. It's interesting that the oldest generation alive today might just be the most relevant.
  • Yet, the market doesn't like that stance toward life. It needs us to spend and waste. So, look for the market to go into overdrive to get us to consume (as if it isn't bad enough!). Advertising will become more ingenious and insidious in order to turn us around.
  • Community will have much more meaning in our lives. The era of the rugged individualist needs to be over and done with. I think this recession is more than capable of doing that. I've found that people are more sympathetic toward one another because they are all sharing in the same struggle. Studies have shown how much the Battle of Britain in World War II galvanized people to overcome the tragedy together. In fact, when the war was over, people fondly reminisced about the heightened camaraderie they experienced then.  My hope is that attached garages and fenced in yards will no longer be excuses to avoid knowing and relying upon neighbors.
  • Spirituality will become very rampant as people turn to a power greater than themselves. After all, it was ourselves that got us into this mess! Ministries of every stripe have a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to care for those in need (and there will be plenty). What a potent way to demonstrate love at the grittiest of street levels. It especially will happen among families and neighbors.
  • Escapist entertainment will continue to draw us into worlds and lives that take us away for brief moments from the realities of our situation. I predict that humorists will increasingly be the mouthpiece of our times (think Colbert Report) and comedies will be the most popular entertainment choice. After all, in the words of that great American philosopher Jimmy Buffett, "if we all couldn't laugh, we would all go insane."

Just a few insights as I gaze into my murky crystal ball.

By Jeff Vankooten • adaptation, Change, recession • 2 • Tags: , , ,