Atheists Have a Suicide Problem

No, we're talking about the same thing. These articles ARE talking about clinical depression. Jesus Christ, my girlfriend has clinical depression and just went in for a CBT session yesterday.

 

I kept passing on this because when I saw the title, I thought it was going to be a christian-right propaganda machine. Salva, your friends suicide didn't have anything to do with Atheism but I can understand why you thought it might.

 

I'm not sure that is the case. Everyone with a functioning brain sees great injustice and evil in the world. The religious are able to get past it, and function in their lives, by believing that there will be some kind of ultimate reckoning, a supernatural justice that will somehow balance the scales in the end. When you understand that that is not going to happen, it becomes difficult to get past all the evil and just get on with your life. I don't want to put words in a suicide's mouth, but I experience intense discomfort when I see innocent people suffering injustice and evil, and if they had the same kind of experience, and saw no way to relieve it, they might have decided to end it all just to end their sympathetic suffering. IMO this is one of the main purposes of religion.

 

I should have said therapy alone does not work. If you think it does you need to go back and read your own info...

 

Quote me the part that says therapy alone doesn't work. You mean this part here? "A number of studies have shown CBT to be at least as effective as antidepressants in treating mild and moderate depression"

 

I am not talking about mild to moderate depression.

 

That's still "clinical" depression. It doesn't have to be severe to be "clinical" depression. And even with severe depression, CBT can be a significant help. Just stop already. You have no idea what you're talking about. You didn't think my sources were talking about "clinical" depression because they didn't say the word "clinical" before depression. You think that's a medical term and must always be included when talking about "real" depression, but it's not. It's just used at times to denote the difference between actual depression and someone using the term in a hyperbolic manner, like, "I'm so depressed now that Breaking Bad is over." Mild, moderate, and severe depression are all "clinical" depression. CBT has been shown to work on some types of "clinical" depression. The fact that a placebo has been shown to work as well as anti-depressant meds for some people with depression (sometimes, even severe) is also evidence that some people can "think" their way out of depression.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-02-26-depression-study_N.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=116892

 

Ok go talk yourself out of depression.....

 

Why are you an atheist? Why do you doubt God's existence?

 

I've presented a multitude of sources and research and you've presented absolutely nothing but denial and an ignorance of what qualifies as "clinical" depression and what is widely known in the field to be effective. I can see how productive this discussion is, so I'm done.

 

I wouldn't say Atheists are happy people. Judging happiness from people is pretty broad and there are a lot of factors. The fact that there are high suicide rates for Atheists might indicate that maybe Atheists aren't too happy, but there might be other factors in their lives affecting them.

Remember this though. Religion is not a mindless pursuit of something greater. Religion is a spiritual fulfillment; it fills the holes and voids in ones life to help them endure even the most complex of life's questions. As a Catholic, I find great solace knowing that there is always ways to improve, and with a 'role model' in Jesus Christ, I have a lot to live for, work for, and be happy for.

 

You need to look up MDD.