tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184208181444239184.post1677422286251787296..comments2024-03-14T13:25:42.698-04:00Comments on Child in Mind: Preschool Depression and Pathological Guilt: A Call for ListeningClaudia M. Gold, MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13081419560269676730noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184208181444239184.post-76889480767169553882015-01-08T21:10:34.484-05:002015-01-08T21:10:34.484-05:00The insula, along with the amydgala, the hypothala...The insula, along with the amydgala, the hypothalamus, and other parts of the brain are highly plastic and are subject to a fairly rapid change in size due to repeated behaviors or a conditioned response. The lie perpetrated by biological psychiatrists is that any difference in size or activity level between two groups is automatically an abnormality. It can be, but the size or activity of a part of the brain does not tell you anything about whether changes are physiological or pathophysiological.<br /><br />To my knowledge, clinically there has never been anyone under 12 that any clinician has seen who actually meets all of the DSM criteria for major depressive disorder, so the whole basis of these pseudo-claims is ludicrous.<br /><br />Depression is a symptom, not a diagnosis, and the difference between people who are clinically depressed and merely chronically unhappy has been glossed over in recent years. The response of these two very different syndromes (there is some overlap in symptoms so sometimes it's hard to tell the difference, but if you follow patients over time it becomes evident which one it is) to both antidepressants and psychotherapy is very different. So asking the question "is depression a disease?" is a bit like asking "is itching a disease?"David M. Allen M.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06280912088483192599noreply@blogger.com