On Fri, 26 Dec 2003 bgramlich at runbox.com wrote:
> I'm asking these questions as an insider to mental illness, and I am not
> trying to discredit any individual's experience with depression. I'd
> just like to know the economic and social factors that play into the
> diagnosis of depression. We all know that the more people that are on
> Prozac the more money Lilly makes.
>
> Respectfully, Benjamin Gramlich
To say that socioeconomic factors influence the prevalence of depression does not "discredit" anyone's experience or undermine the idea that depression is a "real" mental disorder. What fascinates me here is that people often assume mental problems like depression are nothing more (or less) than brain dysfunctions. Like any other psychological characteristics (e.g., personality, self-esteem, sexual orientation), depression is the product of a complex interaction of biological, social, and cultural factors.
Miles