Thanks for your rather accurate comment!

Maybe all the research shows is that the people who put effort into learning in general are also those who are more likely to work hard to make sense of distressing events. Sense-making is one of those skill most helpful to posttraumatic growth.

Important is to be really 'educated' - it doesn't matter if it has come from formal education systems or just by observations and experiences.

Ability to dilute stress is the key to better mental and physical health. So when you have lots of experiences and good unlearning capabilities, the health will be improved.

Thanks for your comment. I very much agree with you: it is much easier to say "connect" than to do it, especially when depression drains so much energy.

We often want our connections to be deep and meaningful so we will feel safe when we open up and express what's ravaging our world, and so we will feel appropriate when we ask someone to share our burden and walk with us for a while. Interestingly, we when have these deep connections, we end up reluctant to open up for fear of driving these people away. We put ourselves in a bind: we limit our opportunity to talk about our problems and to benefit from interpersonal sociobiological regulation, from having someone listen to our problems.

One solution to this bind is anonymity. It's why confession and journaling can be helpful. It's why we might tell a stranger on a plane our sordid life story. It's why some people walk into an empty bar near closing, have a couple of drinks and tell it all to the bartender.

The most effective approaches to finding relief is not necessarily to "connect," but rather to talk to someone who will listen. Sometimes, those are people who share the same bind or circumstance, just strangers who are willing to relate.

"Talk" is much easier than "connect."

In this busy world, people who live alone have to put forth far more effort to connect than do people who live within the community of family or a close knit neighborhood. It is so easy to say "connect" it's harder to give yourself permission to leave the house and make those connections. When you're struggling with depression it may be overwhelming to put forth the effort it takes to make the deep meaningful connection that is so healing.

That's not to say, don't go for it. Just that it isn't quite as simple as it looks.

Gayle McCain

It would be kind of you to share further thoughts.

What a profoundly and beautifully expressed essay, Cole. So many illuminating points. Thank you.

I need to reread it, but I also want to meditate on your words in the context of Japanese society, and what has been happening here in recent years.

So I will probably return with another comment.

Meantime, I especially appreciate your insight:

"Our context, our pool of water, is a mental creation. Our context is nothing less than a creative representation of the sum of our knowledge. And like a fish not noticing water, we hardly notice our context, until it is invalidated and must be updated to accommodate new experience."

Cole, from the mountains in Japan, thank you - Catrien Ross.

Depression is a focus in the following fields of study: psychopharmacology, psychiatry, neuroscience, psychology, sociology, anthropology and economics. The common term "depression," have varied means across all these fields. Many people are very reactive when they read that their field A, is being diminished or dismissed because of a published article from filed B. This issue is true within disciplines and across disciplines. We're all jumpy when the New York Times appears to take sides.

Finally, depression cause tremendous suffering and it presences engages moral reasoning. Also, depression is a condition with costs and benefits. Some people conflate the indications that a) depression has benefits, with b) moral requirement to treat the suffering. We treat because it's morally responsible. We study because it's intellectually fascinating. We shouldn't deny B because of A.

This debate has worked it's way down to moral tail-chasing.

I take you comment to mean we can either be caught up in the experience of depression, or we can watch the experience of depression. The second point of view is hard particularly during depression, but it provides for the best regulation, including the decision to go see medical attention.

The "fire safety" analogy I believe is hogwash. "Oh the whole house burnt down but at least we have these muffins!" That to me is not a good strategy if by focusing on the muffins you mean ignoring the truth of everything else.

Does it mean seeing depression as a learning experience? Perhaps, and why attack such a view? What detriment does it have? What is wrong with learning from our experiences? A stupid criticism in my honest opinion, and very frustrating to read.

What exactly do these people propose as an answer? Do they not think most psychotherapy uses similar techniques?

The whole "rumination hypothesis" debunk is also very premature.

Okay, so they look into some brains and see "increased activity" in the frontal cortex and then look into other brains and see "decreased activity" in the frontal cortex. What does this at all tell us about seeing the upside to depression? Absolutely nothing, especially since we have no idea about the CONTENT of these thoughts.

People can dig themselves into a hole with their minds and they can also build a ladder out. Without discussing WHAT and HOW people actually think about their depression then we have nothing to really say about these mental strategies, since WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE.

I'm not saying depression is the cure to depression; it is just a tool, and we need to learn how to use it properly.