Camilla Nord, neuroscientist: Being sad is normal, but depression is debilitating'

"In her book The Balanced Brain: The Science of Mental Health (2023), she argues three points: that there is no single cure for depression, that medications are not as harmful as many people claim, and that the nervous system strives for stability throughout life, a stability that, unfortunately, will always be difficult to achieve. Q. This morning at Tate Britain, I saw a painting by Ithell Colquhoun titled Depression: a bundle of stretched and tangled threads. Does that say anything to you?"

"Q. Unlike other experts, you don't pick sides: you accept multiple treatments and consider most of them valid. A. A single treatment doesn't work for everyone. Research shows the opposite: disorders are diverse, causes are multiple, and therefore there must be several ways to treat them. Scientists are already past that stage. Now we need to explain it better to the public."

"Q. Some people use depression as a synonym for sadness. How do you respond to that? A. Depression is a profound alteration of emotional and partly physical experience that impairs basic functioning. We need to distinguish normal variations in mental health because we don't have to be happy all the time from illness, which requires treatment to restore those functions. Being sad is normal, but depression is debilitating."

Depression arises from diverse causes and therefore lacks a single universal cure. Medications can be effective and are not inherently more harmful than often portrayed. The nervous system seeks stability across the lifespan, making sustained mental-health balance difficult to maintain. Depression involves profound emotional and partly physical changes that impair basic functioning and differ from normal sadness. Effective care requires multiple validated treatments tailored to individual needs because disorders are heterogeneous. Clear public communication should emphasize plural treatment pathways and acknowledge that different people will find different routes out of depression.

Read at english.elpais.com