Surgeons snaked the
electrodes under the 65-year-old woman’s scalp. Thirty years of Parkinson’s
disease had almost frozen her limbs. The wires, connected to a kind of
pacemaker under the skin, were aimed at decreasing the woman’s rigidity and
allowing for more fluid movement.
But five seconds after
the first electrical pulse was fired into her brain, something else happened.
Although awake and fully alert, she seemed to plunge into sadness, bowing her
head and sobbing.
One of the doctors asked
what was wrong.
“I no longer wish to
live, to see anything, to hear anything, feel anything,” she said. Was she in
some kind of pain? “No, I’m fed up with life. I’ve had enough,” she replied.
“Everything is useless.”
The operating team turned
off the current. Less than 90 seconds later, the woman was smiling and joking,
even acting slightly manic. Another five minutes more, and her normal mood
returned.
The patient had no
history of depression. Yet in those few minutes after the electrical pulse was
fired, the despair she expressed met nine of the 11 criteria for severe major
depressive disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Fascinated by the
anomaly, the French physicians wrote up the episode for the New England Journal
of Medicine. The year was 1999, and hers was one of the first documented cases
of an electrically induced, instantaneous, yet reversible depression.
Additional testing was
done, including a brain scan eight months later during which the same procedure
was repeated. And again, when the pulse was on, the woman said she felt as
though she was being sucked into a black hole.
The scan revealed a
significant increase in blood flow in several brain areas, including the left
frontal cortex. The precise contact area of the electrode could not be
determined, but it was located in the mid-brain’s basal ganglia, which controls
some limb movement and is connected to other structures implicated in
unpleasant feelings.
The fact that doctors had
inadvertently found a source of symptoms for one of the most pernicious of
psychological maladies — and in a bit of gray matter no larger than the head of
a pin — prompted a singularly bizarre question:
Why would depression,
which is responsible for so much misery in the world, be hard-wired into the
brain? Two psychiatric researchers think they have an answer. Charles Raison at
the University of Arizona and Andrew H. Miller at Emory University in Atlanta
think depression once had an evolutionary, adaptive purpose for our primitive
ancestors. For millennia, one of the world’s leading causes of death was
infection. The body’s natural counter to infection includes a number of genetic
mutations that rachet up the immune system. Researchers now know that one of
those altered genes, known as NPY, is linked to major depression.
Why would the body need
to leverage depression to fight off infection? In a 2012 study, Raison and
Miller contended that symptoms of depression such as social withdrawal and
apathy played to the advantage of ancient humans for two important reasons:
Keeping still helped their bodies fight infection, and social isolation helped
prevent the spread of contagious germs.
There is no direct
evidence for this theory. There are, however, additional cases of Parkinson’s
patients undergoing pallidotomy (the placement of electrodes in the mid-brain’s
globus pallidus, which plays a role in movement and coordination) who have also
experienced instantaneous depression. Likewise, stimulation of other areas of
the basal ganglia have induced spontaneous laughter in others.
Perhaps the question the
French doctors needed to consider wasn’t whether they had turned on depression
in their patient, but whether they had turned off happiness.
(By Amy Ellis Nutt March
3, 2016)
... THEN HOW IT CAN HELP?
Usually, we want to move
away from sadness as quickly as possible.
Often, we're encouraged
to divert ourselves from sad feelings by engaging in physical activity,
imagining pleasant and relaxing experiences, or looking for humor in a
situation that makes us sad. Some people, who are naturally empathetic,
have decided to protect themselves from sadness and other challenging emotions
by not watching the news. I can understand.
But I say, let your heart
be broken into a million pieces. You will be all the better for it if you
allow it to open your heart. Here's why.
3 Ways Sadness Can Be A
Gateway to Genuine Happiness
Sadness is not always as
bad as it's made out to be. In fact, sadness can be the start of your
journey directly to the heart of true happiness. Here are 3 ways that
sadness can help you discover a more lasting, genuine sense of happiness.
1. Let Sadness
Crack Open Your Idea of Reality
There's not a single
person in this world that can escape from suffering. Suffering is the
fundamental characteristic of the way we lead our lives—full of attachment and
aversion. This is precisely what brings unhappiness our way.
I like this. I don't
like that. I want this. I don't want that.
There may be transitory
moments of happiness when things go our way, we have an enjoyable sensory
experience, or acquire an entrancing new possession. But temporal
happiness such as this does not last long. Before you know it, dissatisfaction
arises, and you're on to wanting the next thing, person, or experience.
All the tension of
striving for what we want and rejecting everything else just brings more
complications and more distress. We're rarely satisfied for more than a
few moments at a time.
How about trying this -
when sadness pops up, instead of running away, let her wake you up.
Sadness has the power to introduce a crack in our limited and limiting version
of reality. Maybe life isn't all about wanting, getting, accomplishing,
and possessing. Maybe there is another way.
And even if you know this
already, sadness can sing you an even deeper song.
A moment of sadness can
be profound, indeed. You might see clearly for the very first time. Or you
might get fantastically woken up once again. Either way, let sadness
spark your life with new meaning and purpose.
2. Let Your Heart Break
Into a Million Pieces
When sadness breaks open
our heart, we have the opportunity to become fully human.
By having the courage to
touch our own pain and suffering, we naturally feel empathy for the pain and
suffering of others. Suddenly we see: your suffering and my
suffering are the same. Suffering, as well as the wish to avoid it, are
one common thread that unites all of humanity.
From recognizing this
simple truth, one we tend to neglect in day-to-day life, a profound feeling of
interconnectedness can arise and bring about an unspeakable joy. It can
ignite the wish to bring happiness to others and to do all you can to eliminate
their suffering too. Now, that is living for a much higher purpose, one
that leads to a more sustaining joy.
3. Nothing Ever
Stays the Same for Even a Moment
Sadness comes when things
change - a relationship ends, someone dies, we're fired from a job, illness
descends, a friend is physically hurt, a disaster happens. Sadness
introduces us to impermanence and so can help us learn to let go.
Change is the only
constant in life. Until we learn to accept change gracefully, we'll
always suffer. There's a blessing in embracing the beauty of
impermanence. Through doing so, we can come to value every precious
moment of this life and live in a far saner and more fulfilling way.
A Healthy Approach to
Sadness
I'm not suggesting that
anyone get stuck on sadness - that could be depression or unending grief.
Repressed grief leads to contraction and despondency. Instead, the
willingness to acknowledge, express, and resolve grief, over a natural course
of time, leads to greater health and happiness.
At the same time, we
don't need to push sadness away as soon as it pays a visit. Sadness can
be the doorway to profound understanding. I feel empowered by sadness
because it helps me see what really matters in life: kindness, love, and
compassion.
(By Sandra Pawula)
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