Is Depression an Adaptation?

This is the first part of a four-part series on depression, and my first guest in the series is Dr. Steven Hollon. As you’ll hear, Steve is extremely knowledgeable about the current state of depression research, and he shares some mind-blowing findings that go against some of the core assumptions about depression, like that it’s caused by low serotonin. We also talk about how well medication and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) work to treat depression, and why therapy is so much better at preventing the return of depression once treatment ends. Steve clearly knows his science, and he also understands depression from the inside. He had a series of episodes of depression in his twenties, though thankfully he’s been depression free since he started treating patients with cognitive therapy. I hope you enjoy our conversation.