Claim: Depression isn't real

Question

An ex-Big Brother star, Andrew Tate claims that "people defend depression. They get angry when I say this because they need this bull**** to justify their own failures. By admitting I'm right, they need to work hard to make themselves happy. To avoid the work, they argue with me and pretend depression is a thing."

Answer 1

It is hard to give an answer to "is depression real" as you would have to define what being "real" is, which is better answered here: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes-ideas/#:~:text=Descartes%20took%20there%20to%20be,and%20the%20level%20of%20mode.

I was able to find some sources which say that depression is measurable objectively in the brain, which could be evidence that depression is a "real" thing and not something that people use as an excuse to work less hard. 

(1) https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/pet-scan/multimedia/-pet-scan-of-the-brain-for-depression/img-20007400#:~:text=A%20PET%20scan%20can%20compare,brain%20activity%20due%20to%20depression.

A PET scan can show a difference in brain activity when someone is depressed vs when someone is feeling normal. This could be evidence that depression is real.

(2) https://www.livescience.com/64043-sadness-brain-activity.html#:~:text=%22For%20many%20patients%2C%20it%20is,University%20of%20California%2C%20San%20Francisco.

"The study found that in 13 of the 21 patients, a bad mood was associated with an increase in communication between the amygdala (a brain region involved in processing emotions) and the hippocampus (involved in memory)." 

So, if depression is measurable in the brain, then it is real, as opposed to something made up. 

Comments

You did a nice job putting together a thorough explanation with multiple sources. The PET scan information was especially interesting and helped support your fact-check's stance on the claim.

Answer 2

A recent study in 2022 revealed that depression is likely not due to a chemical imbalance in the brain, a previously wide held piece of understanding by most. However, the claim that depression isn't real is false, only research about what causes it is. In fact, depression is one of the most common forms of mental disorders in the United States, with over seven percent of Americans suffering from the disease in different forms. This is about seventeen million American adults over the age of eighteen. 

https://www.dbsalliance.org/education/depression/statistics/

Answer 3

" Depression is, indeed, a culture-bound syndrome and at the same time it is a terrible disease, which cannot and should not be equated with low or bad mood, sadness, or any other “aberration from the norm of happiness”: it differs from these normal mental states symptomatically in the intensity of suffering experienced"

According to a Psychology Today article, this assertion is false. This individual is associating depression with a bad mood that no one is trying to correct, when it cannot be equated to a bad mood due to the intensity felt by the person experiencing it.

Is Depression A Real Disease? | Psychology Today

Answer 4

While it is tempting to pass Tate's outlandish claims as satire, there is no real evidence of this or any other of his rants being that of a character (although his lawyer claims that this is what Tate has been doing for the past year). Depression is something that has been studied extensively for years, and it would be incredibly disrespectful to brush it off as a fake phenomenon. The claim that "Modern think bulls** has made trillions giving anti depressant pills when all they need is a better diet, exercise and a life purpose" is extremely ignorant and telling as to who the kind of person making the claims is. According to a Guardian article by Lucy Cavendish, "It’s a fallacy to assume therapy alone – or therapy combined with, for example, joining a choir which, don’t get me wrong, can lift the spirit and enhance human connection – can “cure” depression." Clearly, Andrew Tate is someone who is not affected by depression, therefore he has no power to say it's not real.

Article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/05/you-cant-just-cheer-up-people-who-have-depression-theres-a-key-role-for-antidepressants

Answer 5

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/symptoms-causes/syc-20356007 

First Andrew Tate has no credibility when it comes to medical services or neuroscience.  He is a kickboxer and influencer.  The Mayo Clinic, one of the most notorious medical centers in the world, directly refutes his claim.  According to the Mayo Clinic depression is a major and severe disorder.  They state, "More than just a bout of the blues, depression isn't a weakness and you can't simply "snap out" of it."  

You can also find other credible medical association's studies and definitions of depression at these links.

https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression 

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9290-depression

Answer 6

"Depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States among people ages 15-44," according to the National Network of Depression Centers. Andrew Tate, a kick box influencer has no real research to backup his claim, nor are there any other research articles out there that would prove this claim to be true. Most people with depression do not seek out treatment, for many reasons but for many people, depression might end with suicide.

https://nndc.org/facts/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuZTGn9vH_QIVcxh9Ch1a_gf_EAAYAyAAEgKsbPD_BwE

Answer 7

This is entirely false.

The disease is entirely too complex to pinpoint on one stressor, and Harvard medicine states that the possible cause of depression includes "faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, and stressful life events". Chemical imbalance may also cause depression, but it is not as simple as just one chemical being too low or too high. There are millions of chemicals working together in the brain, and they are responsible for the mood you are experiencing. This inherently can lead to depression, too.

Andrew Tate is known for his outlandish statements, usually in an effort to get a rise out of people or for his name to be in the news.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/what-causes-depression

Answer 8

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Based on the source above, this claim is supported, however, it is an article with no scientific research, no trials, no different perspectives but rather an opinion of a celebrity who has a severe record of mishaps himself. The source provided does not show credibility of the claim, and makes this claim a biased justification.

Based on medical and scientific research, depression is real, it is a mental chronic illness that comes in many forms, not just sadness. According to an article by NAMICA, over 350 million people in the world are affected by this illness. There is research on the verge to prove that depression can involve uprising from genetics and alteration of the brain chemistry, which will potentially lead to treatment options for depression in the hopefully soon future. Depression is more than just emotions and feelings, it is found through scientific breakthroughs that this is more than just a brain chemistry alteration, but related to defects of cell growth and brain connections.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, the different parts of the brain affect different parts of our life, our mood and so much more, and depression has specific links to the biological component of our brains. There is technology, such as the fMRI, that tracks changes in the brain structure and other technology that help us measure the distribution and density of our neurotransmitter receptors.

Therefore, the claim that depression is not real is false.

 

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Answer 9

Just because some people are better at managing or just because their depression doesn’t affect them to perform daily tasks. Doesn’t mean that other people do have those difficulties, and by just saying work hard to get everything doesn't apply. A lot of people do work hard but depression makes it hard. Some people are very productive while being very depressed, the amount of times we have said check on your happy friends because people are really good at putting a mask and masking their behaviors. That happens because of statements like this where people don’t believe the depression is real causing a lot of people to shut their feelings out. At times we have lost some people because they can no longer keep faking their feelings and felt there was no way out. Statements like this are harmful especially for people struggling with their mental health. Not everyone journey with mental health is the same, so just because depression has never stopped you or your depression has never made you feel bad. Doesn’t mean that other people aren't beating themselves over not being able to be productive, or go to work. We all have different types of journeys we take, just because some recover faster or can get over things faster doesn't mean everyone does. 

Mayo Clinic has a great explanation of what depression is “ Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn't worth living”. 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/symptoms-causes/syc-20356007

Comments

Your explanation seems like the claim is false, no? Why do you think it's exaggerated/misleading?

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Honestly I dont know how to work those buttons LOL! I would also say false too, but still learning these buttons. I honestly thought i didnt even put any of them down, thanks for letting me know!

Answer 10

Although it may be extremely hard to relate to anyone with depression if you aren't diagnosed yourself, it is widely common among the U.S., in fact "depression affects 16.1 million Americans". Many of those who are depressed minimize their symptoms because they feel as though they are whining and complaining especially, when those like Andrew Tate constantly undermine their struggle. 

Within the source I found, https://www.hancockregionalhospital.org/2018/10/what-to-say-to-people-who-wonder-whether-depression-is-real/, psychologists emphasize just how serious a mental disorder like depression is. Although "depression itself doesn't show up in a blood test" and you can't tell if a person is struggling depression merely by looking at them, it is very much apparent in a majority of adults. 

This statement is false. In that not only do millions of Americans struggle in battling with depression from day to day, but they aren't "whining" or "complaining" because they are "lazy" and making a sorry excuse for themselves. These people are struggling mentally, and it is very much real.