Depression Talk

Let me remind you, Gentle Reader, that I have zero in the way of political power and that there are no laws on the table to force those with depression to get neutered. I’m just thinking out loud here. But if you do have major depression or bipolar disoprder, you honestly need to realize that maybe you shouldn’t have kids or have any more kids.

Is Depression Genetic?

There is a lot of evidence that depression is genetic. Studies on identical twins (nature’s clones)that were raised apart have found that they both develop clinical depression around 70% of the time. Although that’s not 100%, that’s still pretty darn high.

Some scientists argue that only the prediliction to develop depression is genetic and not depression itself. But, for the sake of argument, let’s just say that my type of depression (endogenous recurring depression) is 100% genetic.

On the one hand, that means you can always blame your parents for your Prozac bills, but on the other hand, this means that any children you have will most likely inherit your depression. The main reason I’m not having kids is that I don’t want a kid going through the living hell I’ve had to go through and that the rest of my family has had to go through (on both my mother’s and my father’s side).

Well, that and I’ve never wanted kids. But anyway…

Which Got Me To Thinking

Could there be a cure for clinical depression if everyone with it stopped having kids or got themsleves neutered? Would clinical depression be wiped out once and for all? Come to think of it, if you got neutered, then your chances of getting cancer of the reproductive organs would plummet, too.

We wouldn’t know until we try, but of course, getting every single depressive in the world to cooperate in this grand experiement is not possible. Considering that many people haven’t been diagnosed with depression and are still swimming in the gene pool, well, that screws the experiment up, too.

Which makes me wonder why we don’t spay and neuter our kids. Could you just imagine going through your teenage years without any worry about getting pregnant (or getting someone else pregnant?) I know my life would’ve been a lot easier. Not getting periods would be wonderful, too. Although, I did ask my Mom why she didn’t get me spayed and she replied, “Because I think that’s illegal, dear.”

Just something to think about. Now, go argue amongst yourselves.