Depression

Everyone goes through depression at some point and time in their life whether it be through the loss of a loved one or some other traumatic event in their life. Counseling by a minister or a professional psycholgist can sometimes help ease that pain. Sometimes depression is caused by a chemical imbalance that can be taken care through medication prescribed my a medical professional. I think depression can also be a "cop out" diagnosis because it is the first thing a medical professional wants to jump on as the cause when it could be a more serious medical problem. I also thought it was a "cop out" diagnosis until I was diagnosed with "clinical depression" several years ago. I believe my father was depressed for the last 40 years of his life after his Mom passed away. I don't believe he could ever deal with her death. My depression is a daily battle. I can go from an extreme high to an extreme low sometimes within minutes of each other. Sometimes there is an even keel, most often there is not. I tried medication for a while but I felt like I needed that "edge" to be able to function and to be at my sharpest. At what price am i willing to pay for that now? That "strategy" is probably taking years off my life, affecting those around me, and maybe I am not as sharp mentally as I like to think I am. So many brilliant people (and I am not saying I am one of them) have committed suicide and I really have to ask myself why. Research has shown that higher IQ types (and I am definitely not one of those) are more prone to mental problems than the rest of society. I have to ask why on that one as well.