Depression ... in OotP

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 110716

Psyche wrote :
" it is natural to be depressed after a bereavement. That doesn't mean
that it's not depression. And a natural depression like that can be 
exacerbated by other factors, such as time to brood. If a person with
 that kind of temporary depression shuts themself away and doesn't 
talk about it (which is largely what depressed people want to do!), 
it will probably get worse because they have nothing to stop them 
brooding. If they are able to occupy themselves and talk about how
they feel, they will probably recover faster."

Del replies :
If this reminds me of anyone in OoP, it's Cho, not Harry. She's the
one who's always brooding, who doesn't seem to be able to get out of
her grief, who doesn't seem to find a way out of her sadness, who
keeps falling into pieces all over the place, and who seems to feel
better only when she's kept occupied. Harry isn't like that at all.

Psyche wrote :
"His sleep was disturbed by feelings of guilt, regret and anxiety.
Which are all part and parcel of depression."

Del replies :
I disagree. Harry's sleep is rarely disturbed by anything, and when it
is it's not by depression. During the summer he's got nightmares where
he relives the graveyard scene, which I believe is a perfectly normal
reaction to a traumatic event. And the rest of the year, the only
thing that seems to disturb his sleep is those obsessive dreams about
the Door at the end of the Corridor. In fact, I think it's remarkable
how little guilt, anxiety and regret seem to bother him, especially at
night.

And I suppose what you suffered from was anxiety attacks, right ? My
husband has those, it's not nice.

Psyche wrote :
" Del, your experience of depression seems to have been very much more
severe than mine, and prolongued. Mine was a 'moderate' case. Your 
criteria for depression seem to be correspondingly more demanding. "

Del replies :
You gave us a list of criteria, and I just showed that IMO Harry
doesn't fit most of them. In particular, he doesn't fit the one that
you said he has to fit : he has *not* lost his ability to find
pleasure. If Umbridge had not taken everything he likes away, he would
still find as much pleasure in them as he used to. And even so, he
still manages to find something else that gives him pleasure, such as
going out with his girl (even if it always turns bad) and the DA. He
has not lost his ability to find and feel pleasure, hence he's not
depressed, according to the criteria you gave us.

Psyche wrote :
"However, I do think he's showing signs of more than mild depression.
Not severe, I believe, but more than mild. "

Del replies :
As far as depression is concerned, I worried more during OoP about
Sirius, Cho and Neville (well, I've worried about Neville right from
the first book, that kid is holding too many things back for his own
good). I was wondering at the end of GoF if Harry would manage, but
when I read the beginning of OoP, I knew he wasn't on the way to
depression, not in the near future anyway. He's remarkably *empty* of
guilt and regret for one thing. Not that he should have any, since
nothing that happened was his fault. But if he was indeed depressed,
then he *would* be blaming himself for Cedric's death, which he doesn't.

I can perfectly be wrong, of course. I'm just expressing my feelings,
as we all do, right ?

Del