Is depression good for you? Pills aren't the answer to helping
many people recover from depression, says a report out this
week. But there's growing evidence that gloominess could be a
positive experience. 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