[pitspotter2]

Another explanation for depression I've heard from Mark Solms. Or partial explanation. He thinks it may be a dysfunctional or pathologised form of mourning. There are two relevant emotional needs which all mammals possess:

1. Seeking. This is ongoing energetic and curious engagement with the world.

2. Attachment. The need for connection with others, especially to parents.

These two rarely come into conflict but when they do system 1 may be switched off.

e.g. A rat pup is separated from its mother and becomes anxious. It commences to squeak for a brief period in order to attract her attention. It then goes quiet; its brain switches off seeking. It experiences mourning and despair.

The evolutionary rationale for this built-in mechanism is to prevent vulnerable infants from attracting predators.

Obviously humans are more complicated. Perhaps the same shutdown process is triggered in response to the breaking of other kinds of attachment, e.g. attachment to ideas about what to do.