Question

According to Dalrymple, what is the fundamental difference between "depression" and "unhappiness"? Are you persuaded by his argument? Why or why not?

Answer 1

According to Dalrymple, people who are unhappy often mistakenly self-diagnose themselves as depressed and say that they are "depressed" rather than "unhappy". Dalrymple claimed that unhappiness commonly results from poor life choices, whereas, depression is considered to be a medically diagnosable condition that is separate and external to people. He further claimed that a healthy diet, regular exercise, adequate sleep and regular socialization will get rid of people's so called "depression".

While Dalrymple's perspective has some merits, I am not entirely persuaded and in favor of his argument. While I agree that people tend to mistaken their unhappiness as depression, I believe that there is a fundamental difference between the two. This is because, scientific research provides adequate evidence suggesting that depressed individuals have differences in brain functioning compared to non-depressed individuals.