Blogs

I helped host a GREAT presentation by Larry Elman Saturday for the OHA.  Larry talked about his dad, Dave Elman, as well as the famous Elman Induction. 

 

Just finished another guest speaker spot for the Canby High School psychology class about hypnosis.  Great group of kids and I had a great time!

For anyone looking for something to do this weekend, check out the Mid-Willamette Valley Women's Show at the Salem Conference Center this weekend (Feb 4th & 5th).   You can get more information, as well as buy-one-get-one-free coupons, on their website - www.oregonbrickproductions.com

The 2011 Oregon Mission of Mercy was very successful.  Again. 

2,000 patients made it through this year’s event.  Compared to last year, that is a 20% increase in the number of patients that were able to receive care.  At least the bulk of that improvement is a result of learning from and improving upon the first OrMOM, last year.  The first patients in line Monday morning had been in line since around 8am on Sunday.

This year the convention center increased the amount of space OrMOM could use, so there was an indoor waiting room with around 1,200 folding chairs (that we set-up the previous night – amazing how much work motivated volunteers can do!).  There was a large movie screen set-up in front of the chairs where “The Incredibles” and “Shrek” (1,2,3??) were shown while people waited in to be seen.

I'm just a "community volunteer" so, as I'm doing my job throughout the event, I can observe the doctors, students and other volunteers in what I believe to be an objective perspective.  The doctors, hygienists and assistants are there and volunteer because the WANT to.  They want to help in the ways that their unique skills allow them to.  There were dental school students that appeared to have a required number of hours to commit, but even they appreciated the significance of the work they were doing.

I watched different volunteers cry with sadness and happiness as they retold stories of the different patients they talked with.  Always while making an effort for patients not to see this.  In front of the patients it is supportive smiles and kind words.

There were at least one or two patients whom lost patience during the process.  But that is not enough to obscure the appreciation and patients of everyone else who received free dental care this week.  And that underscores the need and importance of this event in our state.

This whole event is built upon donations of equipment, supplies and volunteered time (you can see a list of contributing business and people here).  That makes it particularly special, since no individual, group, or association benefits from the contributions.  Only the patients benefit, as it should be.

 
  Many people suffering from depression have been told by their doctors that they have a genetic disease and they will never be cured.  The doctors claiming this may not be helping their patient as much as they believe.  There are differing opinions and theories on the cause of depression.  There are arguments for the cause being biological, cognitive, and both.  The perspective of this paper is that while biological factors have an influence on depression, depression is precipitated by stressful life events.  The behavioral perspective a person holds of themselves, and their world, has an undeniable connection with how a stressful event will affect the person.
 

Cognitive Building Blocks of Depression

   According to Ulrich (2008), low self-esteem is a risk factor for depression.  Meaning a dysfunctional belief can make a person more vulnerable to depression.  This information can be combined with the findings of Beeney (2008), in that self-esteem can allow for a negative memory bias which further increases vulnerability to depression.
 
  As an example, a person with low self-esteem, which perpetuates a negative memory bias, will react to losing their job with a higher stress reaction than someone without these two contributing factors.  When this combination is exposed to a particular stressful life event, it can result in symptoms of depression. 
 

Life Perspective and Depression

   A stressful life event which precipitates depression in one person does not need to hold the same level of stress to others exposed to the same event.  According to Drevets (2009), exposure to stressful events through one’s life can combine.  When exposed to a current stressful event, a person can have a stress reaction that is stronger than the current situation deserves because of previous exposure to similar events.  Therefore, the root cause of stress may not be the more recent event, it may be earlier events.  When this information is taken into consideration, it helps explain why the cognitive cause of depression is not always immediately clear.  A person’s perception of their memories, perception of themselves, and re-exposure to events are different pieces to the puzzle of depression.
 

The Biological Aspect of Depression

   Beck states in “The Evolution of the Cognitive Model of Depression and It’s Neurobiological Correlates” (Beck, Aaron T. 2008), that the cognitive model of depression is well founded and proven.  But, this does not negate the clear effect that biological factors can have on depression.  While it is evident that dysfunctional attitudes and beliefs can generate symptoms of depression, some biological functions, such as an overactive amygdala, facilitate formation of these dysfunctions by revivifying negative memory and emotions more readily.
 

Biology Interacting with Behaviors

   A person can be biologically more susceptible to the building blocks of depression, and biology can be seen in the symptoms of depression.  The cause of depression comes from the inner beliefs we hold of ourselves, our world, and the resulting skewed perception of our experiences.  As an example, abandonment at a young age can create a profound sense of low self-worth that will affect how the person interacts with loved ones.  People suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder tend to have traumatic childhoods, including abandonment. 
 
  There are arguments for biology being the cause of depression.  There is research showing genes and brain chemistry that are unique to depression being found in individuals who have had depression.  There is no apparent research where this particular biology exists prior to the onset of depression when no corresponding cognitive cause is present.  Therefore these biological signs are found after the depression already exists.
 

Summary and Conclusion

  Biology can be shown to be associated with depression.  Biology can be shown to be a symptom of depression.  But, biology cannot be shown to be a cause of depression.  Depression can consistently be linked to past events in the patient’s life supporting the argument for cognitive cause.  Additionally, many people with depression are able to have spontaneous remission of symptoms without psychological treatment (Andrews, 2001).  This would not tend to be the case if their cause of depression were a result of their biological makeup.
 
  The conclusion of this paper is that biology is limited to being associated with the cognitive cause of depression as well as assisting in the ease of onset of depression.  Further research in this direction will lead to reliable techniques allowing depression sufferers to find relief.
 
 
 

 
Beck, A. T. (2008). The evolution of the cognitive model of depression and its neurobiological correlates. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 165(8), 969-977. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2008.08050721
 
Beeney, J., & Arnett, P. A. (2008). Stress and memory bias interact to predict depression in multiple sclerosis. Neuropsychology, 22(1), 118-126. doi:10.1037/0894-4105.22.1.118
 
Drevets, W. (2009). The Diathesis-Stress Model. In Genes to Cognition Online. Retrieved from
     www g2conline.org/2077
 
Orth, U., Robins, R. W., & Roberts, B. W. (2008). Low self-esteem prospectively predicts depression in adolescence and young adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(3), 695-708. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.95.3.695