tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989966954446423670.post5108941665164332078..comments2024-03-02T00:44:55.128-08:00Comments on Pleiotropy: Adaptive depression?Bjørn Østmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08859177313382114917noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989966954446423670.post-24153798769917600222012-11-15T20:01:56.967-08:002012-11-15T20:01:56.967-08:00 The point that some of you make about depression ... The point that some of you make about depression not being sexy is exactly the point. The adaptive argument is that depression is a protective response to a stressful environment. The chances of successfully reproducing in a stressful environment are lower, therefore libido would be lowered when depressed to avoid wasting the vast amount of energy and resources in a pursuit that is more likely to be unsuccessful.<br /> The difficulty we have understanding how a behavior may have evolved is that we only judge its effectiveness in the modern western lifestyle which has had very little if any influence on currently evolved behaviors.PsychoEdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01277649950441557279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989966954446423670.post-58440755048418375242009-08-30T19:32:36.827-07:002009-08-30T19:32:36.827-07:00"You can just see the sex-appeal of the depre...<i>"You can just see the sex-appeal of the depressed, right?"</i><br /><br />But of <i>course</i>. I know that I, personally, never felt so sexy, or reproductively fit, as when it just didn't seem worthwhile to shower or change into clean clothes for days at a time!<br /><br />cicelyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989966954446423670.post-24176245987364571942009-08-29T13:57:40.849-07:002009-08-29T13:57:40.849-07:00Jerry Coyne wrote about this study as well. Make s...Jerry Coyne wrote about this study as well. Make sure you check that out: <a href="http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/is-depression-an-evolutionary-adaptation-part-1/" rel="nofollow">Is depression an evolutionary adaptation? Part 1.</a>Bjørn Østmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08859177313382114917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989966954446423670.post-33045464061589997102009-08-29T06:51:47.737-07:002009-08-29T06:51:47.737-07:00I just read a document about post-partum depressio...I just read a document about post-partum depression that had the clinical depression numbers for the general population at 3-5%. The rate of post-partum depression for new parents was somewhere around 11%.<br /><br />Unfortunately I can't check what sources it cited, because I returned the book already. But sheesh, 50%! Only according to those shrinks who hand out drugs like they were candy.AwesomeCloud and familyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10627262861489434592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989966954446423670.post-78539283723008315002009-08-28T18:14:01.617-07:002009-08-28T18:14:01.617-07:00You can just see the sex-appeal of the depressed, ...You can just see the sex-appeal of the depressed, right?Bjørn Østmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08859177313382114917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4989966954446423670.post-16859617378896888932009-08-28T11:04:00.398-07:002009-08-28T11:04:00.398-07:00Yeah...right. Because having your thoughts compul...Yeah...right. Because having your thoughts compulsively circling the drain, ultra-focused on the specifics of how deeply and irrevocably life sucks, is clearly an advantage. So <i>much</i> better than an ability to rationally assess the options for decreasing the suckage. Yeah.<br /><br />I am unconvinced.<br /><br />Yeah.<br /><br />cicelyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com