[MattMVS7]

I really am trying my best in life and trying to ignore this thought by focusing on getting better with treatment and just moving on with my life, but this thought still keeps on bothering me anyway all on its own and it keeps on automatically all day everyday even though I'm not thinking about it.

This thought is that if you have depression, will the shrinkage of the hippocampus cause you more depression? Since the hippocampus is responsible for the creation of new neurons and sends those neurons off to the feel-good parts of the brain (as well as other areas of the brain) and that too much cortisol kills these newly created neurons in the hippocampus, will that cause more depression?

Or even if you have untreated depression, does the hippocampus even play a role in depression and that even if it were to shrink, that it won't make your depression worse?

Finally, is it debated by many scientists that if you have untreated depression, that a shrinking hippocampus (atrophy of the hippocampus) will even make your untreated depression worse and that if it even plays a role in depression at all (arguments against the hippocampus playing a role in depression)?

[Leed]

Well, let's see. I'm 63 yrs old. I've been depressed since i was about 5 yrs old. i can remember being depressed at that age, and it has never gone away. I didn't get treatment until I was in my 20's because my parents were too busy getting drunk.

So I began therapy, but also began medication at that time, so that means I've been on antidepressants for about 40-41yrs or so. I'm no MORE depressed than I was 30 years ago. But if I go off the meds, I slip into a horrible dark depression quite quickly. I imagine that's normal with clinical depression.

So I don't know how true all that stuff is. All I know is that I have depression, and without medications, I'm a mess. But I'm no worse than I was 30 yrs ago either so how do they explain that?

Best of luck & God bless. Hugs, Lee