[Paleopsych] depression and the future

[Michael Christopher]

Lorraine says:
>>Depression is a condition where one is without 
hope, No?<<

--Depression is a loop that is very hard to get out
of. Mindfulness training is supposed to work pretty
well, and perhaps with better maps of how minds work,
it will become possible to consciously deal with
depression more effectively. One would have to
recognize both the physical aspects (breathing,
posture, eye movement) and the mental (visualization,
internal dialogue) and then break into the loop at
some point and channel it into some other state.
Visualization is especially tricky. Depression can
alter the way the future looks, changing the
brightness levels, fuzzing out detail, or slicing the
images apart. That's all very subtle, and most people
are focused on the content (i.e. what they're going to
do, where they're going to be) and don't realize that
a positive future imagined through a dark lens looks
just as pointless as fantasies of disaster. 

>>Hope involves the future and for the first time in
history (the atomic age) it is possible to eradicate
all  trace of human history, and in fact life. We do
seem to be hard-wired for hope,  but even water can
wear away stone.<<

--That's true. At some point, the stress level in the
culture may get so high that individuals simply cannot
focus on planning for the future, at least not without
drugs. Perhaps hyperactivity in kids is an early
warning sign.

Michael



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