Depression affects huge numbers of people. One in four of us suffer from it at some point in our lives; one in ten will in the next year, and about one in twenty of us is living with the condition right now. Dr Paul Keedwell argues that, although depression is unpleasant and sometimes unbearable, it can have some long term benefits both for individuals and possibly for us as a species.
In his new book "How Sadness Survived" Dr Keedwell, a specialist in depression at the section of Neuroscience and Emotion, Institute of Psychiatry, London, proposes that depression can lead to increased resilience, empathy and creativity of thought. Examples of brilliant and successful people who have suffered from the condition - from Michelangelo to Winston Churchill - are highlighted.
Case examples support Dr Keedwell's suggestion that depression is a defence rather than a defect.
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