Depression, The Secret We Share - Andrew Solomon
Nandaraye Choi
Summary:
Andrew Solomon shares his experience on depression, and how he feels on modern treatments for it. Solomon speaks about different treatments for depression, including electroshock therapy, as well as a cingulotomy, which is a brain surgery that treated mental illnesses. He feels that modern treatments don’t help with the depression, they just temporarily numb the pain. Using anecdotes of people he interviewed, he uses their stories to support his arguments. He realizes that people with depression have insight, and focus on existential questions that barely bother non-depressives. And using those arguments, he concluded that depression is not the loss of happiness, but …show more content…
He describes depression as not dealing with emotions, but taking the experience to create a better and happier perspective of life. Solomon introduces his thesis fairly early into the Ted Talk, which allows him to get his main message across to the audience with enough background information, and then elaborates his message using specific examples and personal experiences to back him up. The speaker starts off his Ted Talk with a poem by Emily Dickinson, a poet who described depression using the art of language. He then relates it to himself, how he fell into depression after a series of tragic events, and went onto his thesis, how depression drained the life out of him. By introducing his thesis at this time, he is able to provide background information about himself, then expand so the audience can understand his …show more content…
I for one can relate to this topic, because I have dealt with depression for several years, and for him to come out with depression is truly inspiring. He gave specific examples of different treatments for depression, and how he absolutely appalls them (6:12). He mentions how costly they are, how ineffective they are, and how they have numerous side effects. One treatment that completely appalled me was the electroshock therapy. Before this Ted Talk, I did not know that electroshock therapy was a treatment for depression. I never would have thought electroshock therapy was used as a treatment, because I always saw it as a torture method. But when he speaks about an experience his friend went through with electroshock therapy, it was quite horrifying, because for someone to have suffered most of their life with depression, then have to go through more suffering as a treatment, disgusted me. I would much rather prefer the treatments they use in Africa, which is mentioned at 15:27, where they bring people in the sunlight, and create an experience that gets your blood and body moving. His method of using different facts to bring emotional appeals makes his arguments more convincing. He also uses metaphors to enhance his arguments. When he compares depression to a rust spot on a iron fence (24:32),
Nandaraye Choi
Summary:
Andrew Solomon shares his experience on depression, and how he feels on modern treatments for it. Solomon speaks about different treatments for depression, including electroshock therapy, as well as a cingulotomy, which is a brain surgery that treated mental illnesses. He feels that modern treatments don’t help with the depression, they just temporarily numb the pain. Using anecdotes of people he interviewed, he uses their stories to support his arguments. He realizes that people with depression have insight, and focus on existential questions that barely bother non-depressives. And using those arguments, he concluded that depression is not the loss of happiness, but …show more content…
He describes depression as not dealing with emotions, but taking the experience to create a better and happier perspective of life. Solomon introduces his thesis fairly early into the Ted Talk, which allows him to get his main message across to the audience with enough background information, and then elaborates his message using specific examples and personal experiences to back him up. The speaker starts off his Ted Talk with a poem by Emily Dickinson, a poet who described depression using the art of language. He then relates it to himself, how he fell into depression after a series of tragic events, and went onto his thesis, how depression drained the life out of him. By introducing his thesis at this time, he is able to provide background information about himself, then expand so the audience can understand his …show more content…
I for one can relate to this topic, because I have dealt with depression for several years, and for him to come out with depression is truly inspiring. He gave specific examples of different treatments for depression, and how he absolutely appalls them (6:12). He mentions how costly they are, how ineffective they are, and how they have numerous side effects. One treatment that completely appalled me was the electroshock therapy. Before this Ted Talk, I did not know that electroshock therapy was a treatment for depression. I never would have thought electroshock therapy was used as a treatment, because I always saw it as a torture method. But when he speaks about an experience his friend went through with electroshock therapy, it was quite horrifying, because for someone to have suffered most of their life with depression, then have to go through more suffering as a treatment, disgusted me. I would much rather prefer the treatments they use in Africa, which is mentioned at 15:27, where they bring people in the sunlight, and create an experience that gets your blood and body moving. His method of using different facts to bring emotional appeals makes his arguments more convincing. He also uses metaphors to enhance his arguments. When he compares depression to a rust spot on a iron fence (24:32),