From what this study seems to say... Essentially the more attentive and detail oriented you are the more your likelihood to succumb to depression because the brain repurposes those previously increased connections to pump more hormones. Like switching from using a garden hose to pressurized water main just to water your garden, because so much water just evaporates now.
As someone who has had chronic severe depression throughout their entire adult life and who will never get over it, this tracks. I've always taken in more information than other people. And from what I've experienced other depressed people also take in more information than normal. I've always known that "understanding the weight of the world" so to say often makes people depressed, but I always thought that was a perspective and enlightenment issue rather than what seems to be a permanent physiological change.
> The researchers could even use network activity to predict whether a person would have a depressive episode the following week.
If that gets replicated then it would be an amazing finding. Imagine if this leads to easier ways of early predictions that might lead to preventative interventions in the future. Also, so many people who never experienced depression seem to be unable to think of it in any other way than a Very Bad Mood, and think it can be fixed in a similar way. This would finally provide a physical thing to point to to convince them that no, it really is not the same thing and needs a different intervention.
As someone who has had chronic severe depression throughout their entire adult life and who will never get over it, this tracks. I've always taken in more information than other people. And from what I've experienced other depressed people also take in more information than normal. I've always known that "understanding the weight of the world" so to say often makes people depressed, but I always thought that was a perspective and enlightenment issue rather than what seems to be a permanent physiological change.