I admit that I find it somewhat consoling to read studies that prove our brains are different because that makes me feel legitimate in my gripes, or vindicated in my efforts to correct my thought distortions. Like there really is something that I’m fighting against … biochemistry or whatever. It’s not some imaginary friend hiding out in my brain. And it’s not your imagination either. So read up, and take it easy on your cognitive behavioral strategies for a day. Doctors orders.
From Psych Central, one of if not the best source of brain news. For the full story, click here. John Grohol writes:

People who suffer from depression may have far fewer of the receptors in the brain that regulate our happiness when compared to non-depressed people. The new study also suggests that the fewer receptors a person has, the more severe their depression.
Scans show untreated depressed people have fewer serotonin and opioid receptors, and that variation is linked to symptoms and treatment response. But the research also showed the numbers of these receptors can vary greatly from person to person.
The lead University of Michigan researcher, Jon-Kar Zubieta, M.D., Ph.D., says these new results bolster what other researchers have been finding in recent years.
“There’s a substantial amount of biological difference even among people who have major depression, which is just as important as the biological differences between people with depression and people without,” he says.
“The more we can understand about these differences, the better we can address treatment to the individual and have the greatest effect on symptoms.”

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