IGX

http://www.amazon.com/Lifting-Depressio ... 005&sr=8-1

A friend read this first, and sent me this synopsis while I was waiting for my copy:

Our inactive, symbol-manipulating, no-effort lifestyle causes depression by starving the feedback mechanisms of physical action, tangible reward, and fulfillment.

Effort-driven rewards, behavioral activation therapy, and complex, purposeful, productive hand movements (refer to percentage of brain volume dedicated to hand control) have broad, measurable effects on brain chemistry and physical wiring, and have been demonstrated to increase resilience in the face of adversity, as well as cultivate healthy, context-relevant responses to different types of stressors.
Antidepressants, in contrast, provide a temporary, non-sustainable crutch by affecting a small number of neurotransmitters. The brain may "adapt" to antidepressants by reducing its sensitivity of the relevant neurotransmitters, and then you're shit out of luck unless you balance everything out yourself using behaviors. Antidepressants can quickly take someone out of a very dark state, but behavioral activation therapy appears to have same success rate in treatment of depression, with happier end states and fewer relapses. Broadly, author suggests patching seriously ill patients with drugs, but immediately incorporating behavioral activation therapy, gradually increasing effort level until the effort-driven rewards circuit is self-propagating, then dropping the drugs.

He also thought that it was a little "lightweight." I agree, although really that just means that it's written on a typical pop-psych self-help level. Endnotes are included for anyone who wants to do dig up the original research.

To elaborate on the above, the central idea is quite simple: jumpstart and heal the brain's effort-driven reward circuitry by deliberately engaging in manual tasks that have a tangible, meaningful endpoint. Gardening, canning, knitting, flintknapping, whatever. It doesn't particularly matter what you're doing, as long as you're doing it with your hands and it creates a valuable endpoint. Flaming fitness boards is not on the list, alas.

It's easy to see why this is on the Exuberant Animal reading list. Lambert harkens back to our early days on the savannah, when we did "it" all by hand. And "it" was everything that kept us alive. The good old days weren't always good, but the point is that we evolved doing a great deal of manual activities, and now we sit and stare at a box, with or without some typing, and what we get from these modern activities is not always clear. Minimal effort, and unclear rewards.

Lambert points out the use of various manual activities during the 19th Century attempts to improve care of the mentally ill - places like Danvers State or my local Dorothea Dix Hospital were examples of this model in which the inmates gardened, tended the animals, contributed to the maintenance of the grounds and performed other tasks.

It's a very simple idea, but of course it doesn't work unless you apply it, and apply it deliberately. In my case, over the past couple of months it's been very helpful. Among other things, it's made several things clear: why my irritable depressive episodes lead to a flurry of activity, why I've always gravitated towards jobs like histology and electron microscopy that require a great deal of complex manual work, why being a manager was so unpleasant by comparison, and of course why I treasure my beloved Black and Decker hot glue gun...

It has inspired me to be more systematic about my various little projects I always have going on. I list tasks on a legal pad, cross them off as I do them, add more on the bottom, etc. When the page is full I copy any undone ones onto the next page. I make sure to progress on a few every day. Rock on.

So does it work? So far I feel very good about it. You obviously can't pick a person up out of a black puddle of depression and hand him a trowel and say "Go to it," but once you've got them stabilized, this could be a good ongoing aid.

It's not the be-all and end-all of brain tools, but it's another one for the box.

GoDogGo! wrote: It has inspired me to be more systematic about my various little projects I always have going on. I list tasks on a legal pad, cross them off as I do them, add more on the bottom, etc. When the page is full I copy any undone ones onto the next page. I make sure to progress on a few every day. Rock on.

For this part, you would benefit greatly, IMO, from "Getting Things Done" if you haven't read it already. I've been using it for over a year, so it has some staying power and brings abstract "work" down to a tangible level.

Dog, you looking at people, plants, or other with the microscope?

Hebrew: most of my scoping is of engineered cell lines, looking for retrovirus. I also do whatever tissue studies show up, which might be almost anything.

Jack: I was massively depressed for way more years than I care to remember. I'm on top of it now (for about the last 15ish years) but I'm always looking for more tools in the bucket.

GDG,

Your recent mention of this book elsewhere, has gotten me to look into synopses on the internet and reading this review by you.

Just wanted to note that manual labor, usually in an outdoor setting was / is an integral part of Moritan therapy that got synthesized somewhat into Constructive Living.

In the translation from Moritan therapy to CL, some of the focus on manual handwork was lost IMHO and replaced with "getting things done". This is a broad comment and not meant to stir debate.

In any case, thanks for bringing this to my attention. FWIW, knitting was the new yoga a few years ago and you would see nearly every women and a few men in recovery rooms knitting constantly.

Norman U. Senchbau wrote:GDG,

Your recent mention of this book elsewhere, has gotten me to look into synopses on the internet and reading this review by you.

Just wanted to note that manual labor, usually in an outdoor setting was / is an integral part of Moritan therapy that got synthesized somewhat into Constructive Living.

Lambert also notes that in the 19th century mental health reform movement (Dix et al,) having the patients partially manage the institution via gardening, housework, a dairy, handicrafts, etc was an integral part of the treatment.

I've enjoyed building my Makerbot but now I'm at the point where it's turning into computer work rather than hands-on, so I've got to get something else going.

During the institutional phase of Moritan therapy, the first course of treatement was a lot of rest and gradually the "patients" were introduced to manual labor before leaving the institution.

Makerbot? WTF? That looks crazy. I hate to ask what you are making with it. Are you into the whole hipster DIY crafts stuff with your knitting and whatnot?

If you weren't married it would be a great way to meet hot albeit self-involved, obnoxious women.

On a serious note, I do know a younger woman who suffers immensely from some kinda psychic problem. She says knitting is her refuge. She can do it alone as well as socially.

Looked at knitting a little and origami a lot in my shitty topology classwork in school.

But really what you using the Makerbot for? Interesting stuff.

The Makerbot I got into on a whim because it was being tackled by a lot of guys at TechShop Durham. I let it go for a while but then started running with it. While I was cutting out parts, fitting pulley and belts, soldering boards, etc it was very hands-on. Now I'm just waiting for LadyAda to send me a cable and (unless I've screwed it up) it will largely be learning how to use ReplicatorG, Skeinforge, and other software. Not very manual.

If it all goes well and the fucking thing actually works, I may go nuts and use the Makerbot to print out parts for a RepRap Mendel, which ought to keep my hands busy for another 8 months or so...

I've discovered that I have to treat manual work like a drug. Get my dose.

Good stuff. My son and I had a blast making dorodango last summer. I couldn't figure out why it was so damn relaxing.



Article

Never heard of that before. Very cool.

Operating on people makes me happy.
So does needling people (acupuncture)
I also built a little wooden sailboat in 1990 and like making some of my own archery equipment, etc.
never had a problem with depression, but I definitely get a mood lift from working with my hands.

SAR wrote: I also built a little wooden sailboat in 1990

Did you climb aboard and sail it?

I have some issues with depression and after dropping 30+ pounds, cleaning up my diet, and focusing more on my health, endurance, and grappling, as opposed to just lifting heavy all the time, I still have bad days but my new level of health and well being makes the bad days not so bad. I told my wife a couple of months ago that I'd had some pretty bad down days mentally but I felt so good physically that they barely affected me. I need to get this book.

BucketHead wrote:

SAR wrote: I also built a little wooden sailboat in 1990

Did you climb aboard and sail it?

Just on the off chance this will work, cue up the Styx:

"Iiiiiii'm sailing, a-way-"

http://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutiona ... 685&sr=8-1

Not remotely depressed, but I find cross stitch very enjoyable.


http://www.subversivecrossstitch.com/

Fat Cat wrote:

http://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutiona ... 685&sr=8-1

Great book fat's.

BucketHead wrote:

SAR wrote: I also built a little wooden sailboat in 1990

Did you climb aboard and sail it?

yes, of the west coast of florida in summer of 1991 (took around 8 or so months to complete)
Got stuck in a horrible storm with gusts well over 50 MPH. The bowsprit was part of the beam structure supporting deck. We made it to the dock (the mizzen mast broke. I also lost my jib, but managed to keep the mizzen) anyway, a wave caught us and lifted the sprit over the dock and when we settled, the the rubrail and beam gave way lift the deck up off the boat.

This would have been repairable, but I started medical school very shortly after this and didn't get to work on it for some time. By then I had wood rot and that was the end of the boat.

some day I plan on building one of these:
http://www.stevproj.com/PocketYachts.html

If you use big enough darning needles it could be a strongman event
and release a shitload of endorphins too.

I got so much lovin' goodwill and endorphins the crapper's plugged up with the stuff, but
doctors have shown depression and doing nothing go hand in noose.