9: Depression
The term "depression" is broadly used in common parlance - too broadly, the author contends, as it has been extended to include a wide range of conditions that include diminished motivation, which is misleading and unhelpful.
He mentions that in some languages, such as Punjabi, there is not a word for this emotional state.
Depression is too often ascribed to people who have a level of energy or interest that is lower than someone else expected, so outside of the medical profession the term is merely a cultural expression that may not reflect a genuine mental disorder at all, but is merely a synonym for being listless.
It's also worth noting that the present-day fascination with the notion of obsession is largely promoted by pharmaceutical companies and those who promote "saccharine happiness" as a natural state and anything less should be treated. The author feels it is a grave disservice to make people believe that they are suffering from a disorder in order to sell them a cure - and worse still because promising relief in a tablet distracts those who have genuine issues from seeking out the genuine cause, and thereby keeping them in a prolonged state of dejection.
Dissatisfaction with life is to some degree normal, and it is likely a phenomenon of changing times: its prevalence in post-industrial societies may be a reflection of the dehumanization and meaninglessness of such an unnatural lifestyle.
Depression is also a common misdiagnosis for fatigue. When there are physical causes of a lack of energy, such as anemia, the patient's energy cannot be restored by any psychological treatment and it is best left to a physician to address the cause of the decreased level of activity and interest.
It is therefore important to reconsider depression from a more medically valid perspective and to be aware that the term is widely and broadly misused to understand the concept. Granted, it does not help that the etiology and pathology in even the medical literature has begun to adopt the more vague and liberal standards of common parlance, but such is the way of things.
Simply being bored, uninterested, and in a mood to be idle does not constitute a psychiatric condition. To be a dysfunction, a condition must interfere with functional behavior - and as such a person who is feeling down is not depressed if he can carry on with the activities necessary to sustain his life.
Thus, it is only when depression interferes with the normal course of life that it can be rightly considered to be a dysfunction. It is natural in some instances, such as an individual who is dealing with an ongoing situation with which no action on his part can rectify. It is natural to be dejected during the period of mourning, or while a loved one is absent - and the notion that optimism and happiness should attend a person at these times is entirely unrealistic.
However, the psychology of self-deception is concerned with those who enter into a depressive state in order to escape a condition that can be overcome, or to avoid making changes necessary to address something that can be addressed.
Depression is also attendant upon those who have expectations that are unreasonable or goals that cannot be achieved. The deception in this instance is in attempting to believe that these outcomes are possible.