As someone who used to suffer from very severe depression and suicidal ideation for 8 years… he should’ve mentioned a couple of things: extreme pain and suffering (physical, emotional, psychological pain,), extremely low energy ( like it’s hard to get out of bed) , view the world and people in a very dark way, feel completely alone.

I’ve met quite a lot of people who suffered from depression and anxiety and the cause always seemed obvious to me. Yes, on the surface their life seemed good, good job, girlfriend, friends etc. But, they were living deeply, deeply unfulfilling lives and they couldn’t even see it because society tells them “look, you turn upto your office, you have a good position, you earn good money, therefore you are fulfilled” 99% of the jobs people do.... are soul destroying, even if they’re making a lot of money. But people literally can’t see past the illusion of ‘success’. We were built to slay dragons, but we spend our days slaying mice. And weve been forced into that shit since we were 3 - 5 years old. A lifetime of monotonous conformity doing shit we actually never wanted to do. “We haven’t been able to measure any biological markers for this problem”. There are no biological markers for a lifetime of your soul being slowly locked into a chest of cold stone and tossed into the abyss. Play, create, be weird, say ‘no’ more, make a point to see your friends, run around, compete, go into nature more, sweat and breathe heavy, feel the force of the wind, the slash of the rain, go fight it go face it be savage again! Remember who you are.

I knew I was a depressed mess when I realized my life was awesome but I hated it.

becoming a fulltime artist lifted a lifelong depression for me. stopped living for that paycheck and started living with love and passion. depression for me was my mind telling me i needed to change my life or die. luckily i knew what i needed to do.

I hate when people say "snap out of it" when someone is depressed as if it's a choice and therefore their fault. Don't make someone feel like crap for feeling like crap!

I once recommended to a highly anhedonic lady to go on a roller coaster. I had the distinct feeling that she needed a jolt or kickstart of somekind to get that dopamine flowing again. She was down on everything, spoke in a weak at times barely perceptible voice, sat in a chair almost motionless, her face barely expressive. I remembered that electroshock therapy had better outcomes than SSRI'S at the time but that there was much resistance to its use based mainly on distaste. I wondered if a natural jolt might help. I knew her medical situation and that she had no neck or back issues, so I told her to try out a couple of roller coasters at a nearby fun park with her daughter. Surprisingly, she did it, and guess what...next time I saw her I barely recognized her! She was colorfully dressed, energized, joking around, it almost brought a tear to my eye! She said she walked out of that park a much different person than she walked in, and her daughter agreed. She was on Zoloft, yes, but she really felt that roller coaster ride snapped her out of her anhedonic funk.

I’ve experienced a lot of depression in my life, but right now I’m on a tropical paradise island and while I might have some issues, one thing I’m absolutely not is depressed. Environment is a crucial part of whether or not you are depressed. And you have a lot more control over the environment you’re in than you think.

Lex you got to learn how to spin your pen in one hand. I tried to be a chemist but failed to get a degree. The best thing I learned in the 7 years of college was to spin a pen one handed.

I would add that there can be a fear of enjoyment. If you believe that you will experience a low after a high, or that going out to a party or a bar will make you feel worse, it makes you fear doing those things. You want to stay "stable" and not get the really low day that could follow. The loop of chemistry/ideas/chemistry/ideas and so on is very hard to escape from. Personally, chemistry on it's own did not fully help, I needed better ideas and a knowledge of self that only comes with experience.

I was depressed for a while. I’d go to bed and wake up exhausted. My smart watch finally helped me figure out I have sleep apnea. I got a sleep study done and started treating the apnea. I’m much better now. :) I wasn’t overweight so I didn’t suspect sleep apnea.

Man, I went through a looooot of anti depressants before I found the one that works for me.....13 years and about 7 or 8 different kinds. It's not perfect but at least I can sleep at night now and I don't constantly feel like I'm in a dark hole looking up and wanting to end it all.

I'm not sure that medication is the solution every single case of depression. Some people are depressed because of the circumstances of their lives. Others seem to have a more physiological-neurological basis for it - that is to say even if they were to come to terms with something that was causing them to be depressed, there's still some kind of chronic physical issue at hand. Anecdotally, imagine you wake up one morning and you feel immense pain in your knee. So you go to a doctor, and instead of figuring out why the pain started happening in the first place, they prescribe you pain killers. The pain is still there, the issue causing you to feel that pain hasn't been remedied. The only difference is you're now incapable of feeling it. He said himself that from a psychiatric perspective, the root cause of any particular case of depression is too complicated to determine, but the symptoms are very easily treatable. These people are still experiencing something that's making them depressed, but less capable of feeling it. I'm no doctor, though. I know very little about treating depression (except for my own) and I'm just going off of my own experience here. I'm curious if anybody else has thoughts on this :)

This was great !

Im beyond depressed and it stops me from having a life, I sleep 12 hrs a day and I am still tired, I eat maybe once a day then snack a little throughout, I mostly lay around all day watching videos or playing video games and I feel either numb or sad pretty much everyday for about 3+ years...

If you like this clip check out the lectures given by fellow Standford professor Robert Sapolsky. Eye opening stuff...

I believe when you're feeling down smoke a joint. It always helps me see what's good in my life. But hey that's just my own opinion

My medical have helped. Major depression. I literally feel like a new person.

I've been taking meds for a year and a half + kratom daily. I feel great. But I know.if I stop those my depression will come back

Talking might help to those who can afford it. I can’t afford to pay some guy $100/hour to talk to me

The laws of physics as we know them, ARE changing and puzzling scientists and people in general. Exciting discoveries to come! So similar to the point where Copernico and Galileo found themselves in the past. Want it or not, like it or not, change is the only constant here.

Depression - The problem is, we’re only here for a short time. Some don’t realize that until it’s too late and some deal with that finality on a daily basis and cope. Some say “what are we here for” and some say “I know what I’m here for and know what to do” and most are caught in the middle, lost but functioning… the grey area sucks!

I h8 to be that guy, but having been one of those describe (anhedonia, sleep regulation completely out the window, loss of appetite, sexual drive, etc) I can tell you that it's primarily this type of thinking "we can find a certain pathway or circuit, etc" that is the wrongheaded notion. He gets to it at the very end -- realizing that the body is a complex system which is not disparate is the start of true treatment. Depression isn't a pathology nor will it ever be. It is something that must be treated holistically and with every method possible and kick starting a person's neural circuits isn't the ticket. For me, it was as simple as realizing that, like a diabetic, if you are prone to depression you must be extra cautious about taxing and jolting your nervous systems. I don't drink alcohol, I get daily sunlight, I walk for 20 mins a day without fail or else I WILL start to degrade. Anyone struggling, I'm so sorry. And I love you! It does and can get better! Don't rely on medications alone.

I for some reason started drinking every night almost a year ago. Not getting drunk every night but enough to change my state. I feel it might be keeping me in a low level depression but I keep doing jt anyway. I have a job and do get what I need done but I notice I care less about things and people now which I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. I went through a major depression 7 years ago so I know what it feels like or should I say what it doesn't feel like. I know if I stop drinking things will improve but I don't care enough to stop. When I think about stopping I say I will if it gets bad enough but I'm just allowing myself to be fooled so I can continue doing it.

I was brought back to my grounded state through a therapy called Rational Emotive Based Therapy. Honestly saved me from doing the unthinkable.

Been trying for a long time but idk how much longer I can go

The last part is priceless

I'd love to see a checklist of items under our control. And advice the patient to do those things and then monitor themselves. A drug free recovery is certainly possible: Food / Nutrients Environment Structure Habits Sleep Meditation Talking to others who listen CBT Resolving any physical pains Spending time with people improving themselves Gratitude Etc. Practice controlling the controllables until those conscious actions become subconscious habits. All of the above can help. I suffered from moderate depression for 4 years... 2014 to 2018, and recovered without prescription drugs. I am one of the lucky ones. Applying the above helped me. Each item gave my life an extra 5%. The cumulative effects over time were great. Now, if I get down, it's not depression. It is just normal feelings again. One's I can understand and control.

I wonder how effective Electroshock Therapy might be against TDS Syndrome...?

My partner is bipolar 2. I have depression and *maybe* undiagnosed ADHD. Our youngest is 5 and on the spectrum. I am not ok.

I'm not too sure this guy knows what he is talking about. I've suffered major clinical depression many times and I'm not talking the type of depression where life isn't going your way and you feel sorry for yourself (which is what most people think depression is). This is heavy, thick, perpetual despair where you want to end your life every minute of the day just to escape the hell you are feeling. No pleasure, just pain for months on end. I've spent about a total of a year and a half of my life in hospital because of it and most people just think I'm just being weak and can't deal with my life. Every psychiatrist I've been to tells me this is a neurotransmitter problem. You take SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) a type of antidepressant, to increase the level of Serotonin in the synapsis. This in turn has an effect on Dopamine which also lacks in the brain creating the problem. If no one knows what causes depression, why am I still taking my SSRI?

Are endocrinological markers better predictors than any of our bio-tech devices? What byway of them?

I would love to know if people with depression commonly have low brain activity along the top of the brain and a tight occiput. This is basically the physical representation of being squeezed into lower brain functions (usually caused by stress and trauma). Also would love to know if interrupted deep rem sleep has a correlation.

From my experience, this is how i describe depression to someone who wants to understand what its like A zombie is a body that is dead, but alive. Depression is a body that is alive, but dead.

I think depression is when we live from the head too much, we lose connection to child-like spontaneity. Unfortunately almost everything in life forces us to disassociate from the being level. Sitting in chairs, staring into screens, inputting data all day, staring into phones, overthinking everything, planning, we weren’t made to do these things.

Where does one go to seek help for mild depression a doctor?

if this is how he also talks with his patients personally I wouldn't make it. I had to re watch this like 3 times to finally register.

It’s almost like a lack of stimulation in the areas that float your boat. Once you get below a certain threshold, it becomes a negative feedback loop. There are many avenues to enter that sink. And depending on your mental and physical state plus ongoing source of sink, there’s a probability well at any given point in time for climbing out of it.

What are brain stimulation treatments?

""Change your thoughts. Change your destiny""

As a multi-generational, experiencer of depression, including about 50% of my ancestors who died by suicide, I firmly believe that the vast majority of depressive symptoms are improved (if not wholly removed) by the practice of vigorous near-daily exercise, a clean diet of whole natural foods, exposure to adequate sunshine, daily positive social contact, and the absence of toxins. A case of depression, that persists, after all of these factors have been resolved, is likely genetic, and would require pharmaceutical intervention. As a first step, I would recommend exploring treatment with psychedelics in a therapeutic setting. No other pharmacological protocol has yielded results as successful as psychedelics.

if you are depressed a great place to start is exercise and heathy eating. i know it feels cliché but its true and a lot of psychologies believe that depression was intentionally evolved to make encourage exercise with how effective exercise is at reducing depression

I mean. Are we gonna completely rule out a soul. And spirit. Being the "heart" and "pump" he is referring to?

I think we all suffer in our own way

Remember blessed children of men that the purpose of the real science should be to increase the happiness and to free the race from every external condition that would not be beneficial for the elation of man to the pristine greatness of his original cosmic destiny. A light heart is a magnet for all that you love. If you focus on the sweeter things of life, that’s exactly what you’re going to get out of life.

I listened to a psychiatrist once who diagnosed me and gave me the medication they give to people with my diagnosis, I ENDED UP WITH A 357 MAGNUM POINTED AT MY HEAD BY MY OWN HAND! The only reason I’m still alive is because of some serious Devine intervention that violated all known laws of physics and biology. I honestly didn’t think I would live past 30 years of age, I’m pushing 57 now. How did I do it? By never again listening to some so called expert from the profession of Psychiatry and listening to that Devine power that kept me alive instead. THATS HOW!!!!!!

Electroshock therapy I would do if I knew it would work. I would also arrive at the hospital in Victorian Era Garb and blame my wandering uterus. Odd treatment association, but it's there.

depression is the darkness I live with everyday. It's hereditary on my moms side ....I believe it's a chemistry within my brain that doesn't create dopamine at the correct amounts that would allow me to level off and feel ok about myself. It's the worse feeling a human being could ever feel, be trapped inside of ...

It’s like trying to get out of bed with a sack of potatoes sitting on your head

Idk, you can't really definitively explain depression, the only way to truly understand it is to feel it - but the problem with feeling it is that it means you have it, and if you have it you're more than likely going to have it for what feels like forever.

Okay, a theory of everything is a good point. It implies that depression a and other illnesses are an individuals attempt to have an answer to all the main pressing questions of life, be they existential or personal subjective life experience based. As we know, whilst growing up, we are all indoctrinated into life itself, all the information we receive and all the things we are taught and learn come from parents teachers who have syllabus to teach and not tread out of, movies and "programs" which give us ideas and conundrums to sort out in our minds, history from a one sided view in this day and age from a western slant..... All this is what a child takes on, they are basically not free to be themselves, because by the time they realise that 95% is not the real them, it is to late to unlearn and try to survive at the same time..... But if you do take the risk, and not "unlearn" but try to figure out your own beliefs and opinions to questions that were answered for you.... What do you risk exactly? Social anxiety? Depression? Psychosis? Schizophrenia?.... So what would it mean to recover if you recover naturally and move Forward vs recover via cbt and/or medication getting Back to who you used to be.... The theory of everything is a direct attempt to disprove a claim about God's existence.... The Irony is that every individual who truly wants to know the truth for themselves and figure out what they belive the answers are without having to trust anyone else, they also build a "theory of everything" and if that theory includes a quaetion and answer such as " do Ithink god exists? Yes" well then you will be looked at as a absolute idiot for having that answer in the furutre as it is no longer going to be "subjective" as the "theory of everything" will be looked at as objective truth. Christian Muslim or jew, in a world where science has theory of everything, will be thrown into mental asylums for being mad and believing God exists

Why not focusing on the percieved lack of meaning rather than the alleged physiological causes? I have worked through a severe depression through meditation and psychoanalysis. Phenomenologically speaking, a depression is a closed down emotional system. It contains frosen rage, anger, grief, sadness and fear. When the human being again starts to feel what her defences has closed down, she starts to come alive again. The anger, the fear and the sadness need to be healed, which is a gradual achievement. Eventually, the individual is healed and the depression is nowhere to be found.

I feel he didnt really explain depression but gave an indepth explanation of why he (drs and scientists) cant

I agree with the good Dr that improving meds and offering ppl relief from life-threatening illness is a good thing. But it’s not the same as getting to the source of the problem, and offering advanced treatments and corrections. Pharma prefers to throw expensive (and especially habit-forming) meds at problems, without looking under the hood. Or at least not informing the public when they do their own R&D. But I’m hoping AGI/ASI will actually figure out how to repair, replace, reshape, reboot, revitalize etc - at an advanced level - from chemical to electrical to biological etc. So that we are shaping our evolution rather than being reactive to Nature’s complex order.

There are some deep comments here

I know I'm depressed when I have no interest in doing the things I've always enjoyed.

Genetics and how you were treated by your parents

I heard there's a magnetic therapy that is helpful.❤

I've been repeatedly diagnosed with depression since the age of 10. 30 years later I wish I had the energy and the bravery to explore the possibility that I'm not depressed, I'm living in a depressing time for humanity. Anybody who makes 30k a year is in the 1% of the global population. More shopping isn't the answer, it's a symptom of something irrational. Why are we the only species in the know universe with inherently self destructive instincts?

Pretty sure that’s Moon Night

i've never been depressed.

I really don't like the lighting here. It makes the guest look, well, depressed

Some are maybe only missing sun rays :-)

he skipped the part about neurotransmitter imbalances that occur in depression, when we correct one or several with medication depression is often cured. Measuring synaptic serotonin, dopamine, gaba in live humans is probably impossible without causing neurological damage, but it’s not necessary to know the exact pathophysiology in order to clinically and appropriately treat it. Depression causes very typical clinical symptoms anhedonia being the main one that can easily be sensitively screened for. should be in the hands of a skilled clinician to rule out any manic or psychotic symptoms

The validity of every empirical piece of data is dependent upon honesty from the subjects. Impossibly flawed.

😔

"We have medications that can help".. *Nature has joined the chat*

I alienated everyone in my life

If the symptom-treatment industry did find a cure (or a cause) for depression, you'd never hear about it. Treating depression is a $15,000,000,000 per year industry.

just be more mindful lol that'll fix you right up!

When you work over 40hrs and taking your family out to eat hurts the pocket… society is collapsing bc everything is going up yet people arnt being paid enough.. the rich will fall and all due to GREED

MSM Psychiatry. Nothing about Interpersonal Neyrobiology, the problem of identical twins sharing the same nurture en utero, and therefore epigenetics is already a role. When "Deptession', as a construct, is reduced to Gene's and/or biology, you know reductionism has made the cure impossible, as it's merely seeking to lessen symptoms; that's what self-medicating does. The depression, in most cases is itself a symptom of trauma; generally, chronic, or complex trauma, and more often in early childhood. "There is no pill to heal trauma", and getting to it is difficult, expensive, and as this bright academic reveals, widely misunderstood. I have and do suffer with the symptoms that are clustered and called Major Depression. Healing trauma involves much grief. Grief, if not genetic, and biologically caused (sarcasm), and depression are so similar in "symptomology", per the DSM "bible", that duration is the differentiator. "Lasting more than...", turns Grief into "Complicated Grief." By whose wisdom do we understand grief, psychologically? "Psychology (Psychiatry) measures a person's adaptation to the society in which he/she finds himself. No Inquiry however, is made as to that society's adaptation to life as it naturally is."- Dr. Hubert Benoit from "Zen and the Psychology of Transformation" May we re-member our true nature, in all of its forms.

Depression has to do with the Earth's gravity. Everyone is depressed, but a lot of people are either in denial, or not open and honest about it. If we weren't depressed (i.e. the gravity was lower), we wouldn't have to use so much energy to survive, but we would also lack purpose. Those who find a way to be less depressed, always go back eventually

treatment resistant depression can be cured by watching lex clips.

Normaly it's the way people have been treated through out their life , abuse and trauma , pushed into a corner , referred to as a dog ! Life threatened over a long period of time , psychological and physical trauma , other people trying to control your life , family treating you like shit! Psyclological games ! What do you expect ? A happy person ? Under surveillance and observation 24/7 , being attacked while you sleep , I could go on and on , you tell me , would you be happy mr psychiatrist ?

Im repressed

FOUR GALAKSY NEAR CAPİTAL ??????? OR 16 GALAKSY YES THERE ARE CENTRE ALL GALAKTİKA

well this stanford guy himself sounds as if he were utterly depressed

The treatments don’t work better than placebo. Psychiatry is pseudo science. Wish you could interview Thomas Szazs

These guys tone of voice is depressing. How Ironic!

Sleep, diet, exorcise. It may not cure depression but you WILL feel better very quickly

As part of the animal kingdom I'll bang my chest and Howl at the Moon this will cure any and all kind of depression i asure you ,try it .

“We don’t have any idea what’s going on in the brain.” -this dude But hey, let’s use drugs on the brain and treat our patients like lab rats

Psychiatrist looking depressed

substantive choice for God's federal hegemony of free will kingdom

Basically his long winded answer is "We don't know but lets give shock treatment a go" Psychiatry is stuck in the dark ages

Happiness is for the ignorant.

I knew I was depressed when I realized this person has only half of a face! 🤣

Psilocybin.

Depression is a tool not everyone has access to. Our brain in a normal state tricks us into believing the things we engage in have real purpose and value. A depressed state of mind can be used to see the reality of our fallen state and our need for a savior.

I only care for depressed people

The first "line of defence" in modern western medicine, is to give patients psychotropic medications. This 'REACTIVE' approach is antiquated and dangerous. Modern psychiatry needs to embrace a more 'PROACTIVE' and holistic approach in terms of studying - and attempting to treat - the most problematic mental illnesses. Don't get me wrong - medication has its place in modern medicine, and psychiatry in particular. However, family physicians and psychiatric professionals have been overprescribing SSRI's SNRI's, Tricylics, and substituted cathinones for decades. Pills alone ain't gonna help all of the millions upon millions of us that suffer with mental illness.

Depression is a myth. It's all in your head. Just be happier bro.

I've tried Zoloft, Paxil, Effexor XR, Prozac and Wellburtin over the last fifteen years and honestly none of them ever did a thing. I didn't feel worse but I also didn't feel better. I'm trying to find something I love and I'm good at which we all know is difficult alone but when you add something like depression ans and anxiety it's a bitch.