Is Depression an addiction?

Question

Can someone be addicted to being depressed, and in turn act in ways to ensure that this addiction is satisfied?
I am thinking it is similiar to people that are addicted to adreneline rushes... only a bit more subconscious...
and if so, wouldnt some form of non-chemical treatment be the best way of dealing with this addiction, meaning.. jumping on prozac is not the best path to take?

Answer 1

There are organic depression and non-organic depressions. Organic depressions are hereditary, some families tend to be depressive because of genetics due to the chemical make-up in their brain. As such, chemical treatment is one of the best way to deal with it.

As to addiction, yes, one can be addicted to sadness in a manner of speaking. There is an emotional and biological basis for this. For some, depression is their unconscious way of getting what they want i.e. sympathy, lattention,less workload, escape from reality (like most addictions do), divert the family's attention from a problem, or just to feel better about themselves. In psychotherapy you call this secondary gain. If being sad gets you all this things, you may get addicted to it. Yes, in this case therapy to bring this dynamics to awareness is needed and teaching them alternative means to get what they want will help. However, it can also be biological. Some people though they didnt inherit depression, if they've been depressed for a really long time---addicted to it for a very long time-- their biochemistry changes and they become more prone to depression and thus may require medication.

If you are asking this question in behalf of yourself or someone you know, please seek a professional. Diagnosing which kind of depression it is and which treatment helps is a complicated process. There can be many levels.

Answer 2

I'm 15, so take that into account with my answer. I only know so much. From what I consider, the mind can easily get addicted to various chemicals released when certain emotions occur. Thus, we have optimists and pessimists. So the brain can get addicted to chemicals or their chemical reactions, so I think someone could get addicted to depression but I wouldn't be sure how to best go about it. It's kind of hard to go cold turkey on something like that and anti depression pills could possibly become the next addiction. Sorry I can't give a definite answer.

Answer 3

The psychology of dependency you bring up is very interesting, and sure there must be some research on it, but do not know of any. That would be great doctoral research project. You might run into problem with medical definition of addiction. Under it person would have to become ever more depressed to obtain wanted satisfaction, so what you are saying very well could be true for some, but term addiction does not sound correct. You might get away with depressed if you stayed away from clinical depression.

Answer 4

No Depression is caused by perhaps a death of someone or a crisis. The adreneline rush is what we call a panic attack. Tom Cruise judged Brook Shields because she was taking antidepression drug. I do believe that if there is medicine to help someone in depression that the person should go ahead and take the medicine from a doctor or psychiatrist...You would have to be in the other person`s shoes to understand what they are going through and what their family is handling their depression also! If the medication is helping someone who is depressed just memo it is better than dying......Depression can not be helped like a cold or allergy. Thank God for medications !!!.

Answer 5

Depression is a chemical inbalance. The medication used usually are Selective Seroton Reuptake inhibitors. The Serotonin is not being released appropriately in a depressed person and is a medical disorder just like someone that has problems with diabetes where they need insulin to cause the sugar to be taken into the cells appropriately.

Answer 6

Over the last five years I had begun to have increasingly withdraw into a downward spiral of depression..

But now with the method I can fully focus my energy and thoughts into a decisive line on how to make my life better constantly. And it works like magic! I'm beginning to attract people to me once again and things have just been looking up since then.

Helping you eliminate depression?

Answer 7

"Wow someniceguy! Your life is in a big transition. Your thinking is continuously improving. Your perception is getting keener. Your coming to conclusions in your life.
Why do I write these things about you? I'm just looking back. I can see myself in you.
When I was just out of adolescence, I began having some type of "episodes" occur. It was like waking up and completely understanding something that had me baffled a long time.
Every 3 or 4 years I would go through some "episodes" that were more like having "little time capsules" go off in my brain that enabled me to see my conflicts more closely. Of course, invariably, I got depressed. Sometimes the "little time capsules" would go off again in a month or two. I would, suddenly, discover more truth about my existence and others. Then, like a commercial from hell, I felt depression again. All my attempts to control this damned depression failed until I asked a teacher I trusted about it. He recommended a professional. I got an appointment and met the Psychologist at her office. I described my condition of depression just after a discovery that should have made me feel elated. I guess it did for a short while, then, depression. It took us about 2 months to get to the mechanism controlling my conflicts.
Making a long story short, we discovered that I was maturing and changing from post adolescence into a young adult. This process of change targeted my self perceptions. Each time I made a discovery with "little time capsules" going off in my head I changed from the old me to a new me. I was very confortable with the old me and it was very depressing to give it up for the new. I had no idea of this effect before the advise. The depression was me, acting out with a method of grieving---depression! This was another cognitive effect produced by professional help. Didn't need any more "little time capsules" to realize the issues of my conflict. I mourned the old me. I could never do the things that the old me did anymore. I was the same person I always was, but, I got "corrections" in my mind and that provided new "corrections" in my body.
In conclusion, I no longer get my depressive moods after discovery. I'm sincerely thankful that my discoveries continue. I've been told, by an older friend, that the discoveries never stop if you want to know the truth of the self and others."

Answer 8

Well I am sure people get addicted to depression, I think they have a feeling of being alive when they are depressed.

Answer 9

I don't know for sure coz it varies from person to persno but certian ppl do seem to consider it a trend to be dipressed. Some of course can't help it coz it's a medical condition but for others its a way of getting attention.
guess it varies from person to person

Answer 10

No that is dumb. I only say that because according to doctors depression isnt just being upset about your life circumstances, or whatever. It is when everything in your life is fine, you have a good life.......only you are still unhappy, with no reason to feel like this. They can't control it.