A few thoughts on depression, and philosophy
The subject of depression has got a fair amount attention in the media in recent times, something much to be welcomed. High-profile figures like former spin doctor Alastair Campbell, ex-footballer-turned-pundit Stan Collymore and the writer Marian Keyes have made their sufferings public and given a lot of encouragement to others who have gone through similar experiences. I’ve been a sufferer myself in the past and certainly welcome these interventions, especially for the way these people have candidly revealed weaknesses in themselves, thereby making it easier for others to do the same. Campbell wrote a little book called ‘The Happy Depressive’, exploring his own experiences and depression as a public policy issue. I won’t go into that book in detail here because I want to take a brief look at depression from a different angle, but one quotation wouldn’t go amiss: “In the US, trust in other people being ‘nice’ has fallen from 60 per cent to 30 per cent in fifty years...