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BY HERBERT VEGO
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Sunday, October 15, 2017
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BETWEEN TV personalities Maine Mendoza and Joey de Leon, who was correct? Since it was the latter who apologized a day later, then Maine must have won their TV “debate” on depression that turned viral on the internet.
The exchange of words played out unscripted on the entertainment show Eat Bulaga, where they and other hosts were consoling an aging mother who had been diagnosed by a doctor of “depression.”
“Yung depression, gawa-gawa lang ng mga tao ‘yan. Gawa lang nila sa sarili nila,” Joey said. It was like saying that the old lady had inflicted depression upon herself.
Co-host Jose Manalo agreed, “Oo, dine-depress n’yo lang ang sarili ninyo, tapos nagkakaroon ka ng sakit.”
Maine begged to disagree, “Uy, pero hindi biro ‘yong depression. Kaya dapat, kung mayroong nakakaranas ng gan’on, bigyan natin ng suporta.”
To which Alden Richards clarified, “Moral support.”
But Joey insisted, “Hindi, huwag n’yo suportahan; gawa-gawa lang niya yun.”
In that context, let us turn to Mr. Webster for the definition of the word depression: “A state of feeling sad; a serious medical condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, unimportant and often is unable to live normally.”
Both Joey and Maine are therefore correct because, analytically, they don’t really contradict each other. While depression is indeed a disease, it could begin as a surmountable self-pity. Here’s what the website www.webmd.com. says:
“Some people experience depression during a serious medical illness. Others may have it with life changes such as a move or the death of a loved one. Still others have a family history of depression. Those who do may experience depression and feel overwhelmed with sadness and loneliness for no known reason.”
Remember the late Hollywood comedian Robbin Williams? We gasped in disbelief two years ago on knowing that the person who had produced smile and laughter in worse-situated patients hanged himself to death over Parkinson’s disease. With all his money, could he not have fought depression with anti-depression drugs?
Assuming he had, he still might have failed to shake the blues.
According to Dr. Paul Anderson, an evolutionary biologist and professor at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, antidepressants are just a “quick fix” for shaking the blues. Patients taking these drugs have indicated “doubling their risk for a relapse of major depression.”
While that is not what the doctors who prescribe Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil say, Anderson’s research indicates that prolonged use tapers off their effectiveness; takers eventually resort to stronger drugs.
Anderson believes that depression actually prepares the body to deal with stress, just like fever that helps the body fight infection. However, it also indicates an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain which dictate the way an individual thinks, behaves, and feels.
Anti-depression drugs alter the levels of the neurotransmitters, disrupting the body’s natural regulatory process. Consequently, when the patient quits taking the drug, the brain overcorrects and triggers deeper depression.
To test this theory, Dr. Anderson and his team found that, on average, patients who took the drugs and then stopped had a 42 percent risk of relapse. Conversely it was only a 25 percent risk for those who had never “drugged.” Users are stuck in a cycle where they need to keep taking antidepressants to prevent a return of symptoms.
The drugs cause aggravating side effects in men, including problems getting an erection, sexual dysfunction, decreased libido, and lack of orgasm.
Promoters of “natural medicine” cash in on Anderson’s research by selling natural alternatives like St. John’s Wort (an herbal supplement) and Omega 3 fatty acids.
In my case, I escape depression by writing for a living. My talent fee goes a long way to the restaurant where I slurp shabu-shabu. (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)
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