Skeptics Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [depression]

A condition which can originate from any of a wide variety of sources and is often characterized by aversion to activity, saddened or somber mood, and feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, guilt or restlessness.

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Are statistics in controversial Australian antigay posters true?

According to the photo of an anti-gay poster depicted here: 92% of children of gay parents are abused 51% have depression 72% are obese My questions: Are these stats supported by other studies? If not, how much do they deviate from other…
Paul Smith
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Did depressed people far more accurately estimate how many monsters they killed in a video game?

In a Ted talk (YouTube), Andrew Solomon says There was a study I particularly liked, in which a group of depressed and a group of non-depressed people were asked to play a video game for an hour, and at the end of the hour they were asked how many…
Rebecca J. Stones
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Is depression a disease?

I got this question after reading this: http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/wrsnews/basel-study-shows-positive-side-of-depression.shtml?24427 When a person is depressed, is it because the brain is malfunctioning, or is it just a natural reaction for…
hooray
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Does having a pet help to cure your depression?

According to the community based website Curetogether spending time with a pet helps people with depression. Is there peer reviewed research that makes the same recommendation?
Christian
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Do antidepressants work?

I've been seeing occasional studies go by about the use of anti-depressants in treating depression. Some seem to imply that they are at least over-prescribed (which may in itself not be all that bad, if the side effects are negligible), and that…
David Thornley
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Is suicide through thought possible?

Moult studies have shown the control power our brain has. From relaxing yourself, to decreasing your breathing rhythm and auto-hypnotizing yourself to sleep (all three of which I have experienced), we have a lot of control on our bodies and…
ChrisR
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Is sex a cure for depression in 50 percent of cases?

I read this claim on Twitter from a plastic surgeon who has worked for the Miss Venezuela organization. It says: Estudios revelan que el 50% de las depresiones se curan con buen sexo. #CiruTips Which means: Studies reveal that 50% of depression…
asdrubalivan
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Are fat people happier?

We all know Santa Claus is a big jolly guy, but is it true that fat people are happier than slim people? They teamed up with colleagues across Europe to study the lifestyles of thousands of people and the results were stark: thin people were far…
YUASK
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Do Russians get depressed the same way Americans do?

In 2010, The Wired wrote an article called "Why Russians Don't Get Depressed", describing a paper in Psychological Science. Others, such as The Atlantic and Reuters, wrote about the study as well. The article made many bold observations, such…
user17561
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Is Turmeric better than prozac to treat depression?

We can find online several websites promoting phytotherapy, which claim that Turmeric (Curcuma) is as effective as Prozac for treating depression, and without its side effects, for example this one, Study: Turmeric more Effective than Prozac at…
Einenlum
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Does listening to negative emotive music help dealing with negative emotions?

My girlfriend tends to listen to music that express how she feels at a given moment. For example, if she's feeling frustrated then the lyrics of the songs she listens will be of frustration. Does this external agent (music) expressing her feelings…
Kenji Kina
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Is depression caused by chemical imbalances?

According to this recent Quartz article: The theory that [depression is] caused by chemical imbalances is false. And: [Chemical imbalance as the cause of depression] was once a tentatively-posed hypothesis in the sciences, but no evidence for it…
Larry OBrien
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Is it always harmful to tell a depressed person something that equates to "toughen up" or "make more effort"?

AFAIK this is quite established in both US and Japan (and I guess in other countries, too), and I myself have faithfully followed this advice whenever I had interaction with a depressed person. I wonder though on what kind of evidence this is…
Enno Shioji
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Can gluten cause depression?

Yesterday, I read a really serious testimony of someone saying that, since they stopped eating gluten, they aren't depressed anymore. I did some digging and find several articles linking gluten to depression. Like this one or this French one. The…
Ælis
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Does a brain age faster when depressed? And would that be a bad thing?

Websites are reporting Research shows your brain physically ages faster when you're depressed Sources 1 2 3 I wonder how exact that research can be, when including such vague (as in: Surely not easily quantifiable?) ideas as brain age and…
npst
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