The Joy of Depression

What depressed the cavemen? It may strike us as a particularly modern malaise for a time-poor, fast-paced society but a new reappraisal of depression suggests it has always been around. A leading psychiatrist says that depression is not a human defect at all, but a defence mechanism that in its mild and moderate forms can force a healthy reassessment of personal circumstances.

Dr Paul Keedwell, an expert on mood disorders at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, argues all people are vulnerable to depression in the face of stress to varying degrees, and always have been. The fact it has survived so long -- and not been eradicated by evolution -- indicates it has helped the human race become stronger. "There are benefits and that's why it has persisted. It's a tough message to hear while you are in depression but I think that there's a life afterwards," he says.

"I have received e-mails from ex-sufferers saying in retrospect it probably did help them because they changed direction, a new career for example, and as a result they're more content day-to-day than before the depression." One woman left an abusive relationship and moved on, he says, and might not have done if depression had not provided the necessary introspection. Similarly, unrealistic expectations are revised when depression sparks a more humble reassessment of strengths and weaknesses.