Did Enid ever get depressed?

[Spitfire]

Thanks for correcting/clarifying a few things in your post, Tony. It is all too easy to get the wrong impression!!

[Deej]

It is pure speculation to say that Enid suffered from depression

There is no proof but considering the amount of people that do suffer from depression, I would say it's quite likely, and certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

[Katharine]

I don't expect anyone can prove one way or another that Enid had depression. Personally I think it was unlikely. That's based on the definition of depression meaning a person feels unable to move or think about anything, crying, wanting to sleep all the time etc. If she'd suffered in that way, I can't see how she would have been able to produce the volume of work she did per week, not just writing stories, but writing for her magazine and answering all the correspondence she did.

If she'd had days when she would just stare at a blank TV screen, or sit all day crying, then I would have thought such gaps would have shown up in her work output. I suppose the only way to try and prove it one way or another would be to examine her work notes, collate information from publishers, and to look at her surviving diaries. That might give an indication as to whether she had any times when she was unable to work.

I don't know the statistics for the percentage of people who have suffered from depression, but I only know of 2 people who have had it, neither of them a relative. So that's only a tiny proportion of the people I know. On the other hand, if depression is classed as just feeling a bit fed up from time to time, then I'd say that applies to 99% of people I know, but it doesn't stop them functioning on a normal daily basis.

[Moonraker]

It is pure speculation to say that Enid suffered from depression

There is no proof but considering the amount of people that do suffer from depression, I would say it's quite likely, and certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

In other words, it is pure speculation, as Tony said!

[Tony Summerfield]

I'm sorry Ben, but I don't buy your statement at all. I have no idea what the statistics are, possibly you do, but depression is a recognised illness and as Katharine said there is a big difference between that and feeling a bit fed up from time to time and that is something we can probably all admit to at some stage.

I would say it is highly unlikely that Enid suffered from depression and I stand by my original remark that it is pure speculation to say that she might have done.

[Carlotta King]

Depression can sometimes fuel incredible creativity.

As Deej and Tony have said, we don't know either way, my point is just that if Enid did suffer with it, it may not have hindered her work to the degree that one might think.

Just my two penneth.

[Nair Snehalatha]

I was under the impression that Enid never saw her saw her mother again after she left home. --yes, it's Mary Attenbourough--- a typing error on my part.-- Thank you for making it clear-- Tony about Enid seeing her mother again.

[Katharine]

I've just checked out the definition of depression on the NHS website. It says that as a general rule, a person would have symptoms, most of the day, every day for at least 2 weeks. It then lists a lot of symptoms, and concludes with three levels of depression. It says that a person with mild depression would find it has some impact on daily life, moderate depression has a significant impact on the sufferer's life, and severe depression makes it almost impossible to get through daily life. So I think it's fairly safe to say that people would have noticed if Enid had depression at either of the latter levels, and I would have thought even if she'd had mild depression it would have be noticed. She often had very tight deadlines to meet, and I don't recall hearing that she never met her obligations. That's with one exception, I believe I've read a letter in which she apologies for being behind with her work, however that was because Imogen had been seriously ill, and she'd rushed to her bedside.

The site also differentiates between grief and depression, which I has been touched upon. In which case, although Enid may have suffered from grief following her father leaving home, the death of Kenneth etc., it wouldn't be counted as depression.

I've also read the symptoms for manic depression, and don't think the description fits Enid. It describes someone with this condition as having spells of depression and excessively high moods. I don't recall hearing Enid described in that way by anyone.

[Spitfire]

I've also read the symptoms for manic depression, and don't think the description fits Enid. It describes someone with this condition as having spells of depression and excessively high moods. I don't recall hearing Enid described in that way by anyone.

Manic depression is now known as bi-polar, and it is true that people who suffer from bi-polar are sometimes brilliant musicians, artists or writers...

...but not always.

I'm no expert on the differences, but bi-polar is certainly a different thing to ordinary depression. People who suffer from what is usually called 'depression' don't experience the manic 'highs' that are part of the bi-polar condition - they generally struggle with a 'low' state of mind. To me, this factor alone would make it seem unlikely that Enid suffered from depression, but I really know very little about Enid herself.

It's interesting to speculate about her of course, but it does seem to me to be rather a pointless exercise unless the available evidence and material is read and assessed first, so that at the very least the result is informed speculation!

[Katharine]

It's interesting to speculate about Enid of course, but it does seem to me to be rather a pointless exercise unless the available evidence and material is read and assessed first, so that at the very least the result is informed speculation!

Good point. It's interesting that there has been this discussion and the one about her dementia, both of which are related to the brain. No one seems to have started a thread about whether she suffered from short sightedness, bunions or rheumatism etc. I suppose it's because it was her brain that produced the books. However, other conditions could also have affected her ability to produce work or the type of work she produced. For example, if she wrote a story about an old person having to walk with a stick because of a bad leg, was she being influenced by a touch of sciatica on that day?

[Moonraker]

Did Enid ever get depressed?

I found myself wondering this today and found I couldn't really answer that question myself.

What made you think that she might have?

[deepeabee]

There are some very muddled thoughts in this thread, particularly from Snehalatha. It is pure speculation to say that Enid suffered from depression, and she certainly didn't die from a broken heart. Her dementia was caused by hardening of the arteries which restricted the flow of blood to her brain, and the onset of this occurred some time before Kenneth became ill, she was already having severe memory problems several years before her death. This is not my opinion, it is a statement of fact from one of her doctors.
...

Here's a thread about restricted blood flow dementia http://www.alz.org/dementia/vascular-de ... mptoms.asp.

[Katharine]

That was an interesting link, it's nice to know there are certain things I can do to reduce my risks of getting that form of dementia.

It would seem that not smoking or drinking, and maintaining a healthy weight through sensible eating and exercise is the key to avoiding many of life's major diseases.

[shadow]

Katharine, you've just made me depressed.

[Katharine]

Shadow, it wasn't me - it's what the health professionals recommend. I only score on half the criteria, so still have a 50% chance of an untimely death.

What is they say? If you don't drink, don't smoke, and don't eat chocolate, you don't live longer, but it just feels like it