Depression: Overview

I recently came across an article in the Medical Service Society of San Diego's archive. The article was an interview with a pharmaceutical sales recruiter, talking about how one can become a pharmacologist and begin their career. The recruiter said he thinks people should

"want to be in the pharmaceutical sales because of the excellent income potential, the outstanding benefits, industry stability and the oppurtunity to improve other people's lives" (Riley, MSSSD).

This is a key pitch line for potential pharmacologists. Being able to "improve other people's lives" has become a nessecity in our Western culture. Within the past forty years, we have seen the need for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness become a right that every American deserves. When the truth is, unhappiness is a part of the human condition, and there really is not much technology or pharmacology can do to fix your happiness problem. You need to figure out what makes you happy, and dissasociate yourself with people who make you unhappy. Diet, excercise, and daily meditation are also great ways of relieving stress and finding happiness.

However, there are many people who struggle with Major Depression Disorder (MDD), which is a real and possibly fatal disease. This disease is all within the brain, and is controlled by the amount of serotonin released into the brain. The more serotonin you have, the happier you will be. That much is a fact. And anti-depressant drugs, like Prozac and Lexapro, can be significant temporary relievers of the symptoms of MDD. But, since there is no 'cure' for depression, you have to be pro-active and create your own solutions to conquer depression for the rest of your life. 

This is just an over-view blog of what depression is, and ways one can treat their depression. But to each is their own, and depression is no different. What do you think about depression?