[grinsekatze]

Well, I think it is safe to assume that Long Term Happiness changes the brain "permanently" in the same manner.

How about this: the brain is ever changing. Our previous states of consciousness manifest in our brain, which can be observed when we look at it.

[cgriswald]

> Well, I think it is safe to assume that Long Term Happiness changes the brain "permanently" in the same manner.

That would be a poor assumption. The "change" that was observed by the researchers was an increase in the amount of a protein which is an indicator for brain inflammation. Per the article, you see the same type of inflammation with diseases like Alzheimers. The takeaway is that depression is a progressive illness and current treatment doesn't address this progression.

[devmunchies]

> current treatment doesn't address this progression

I myself would rather see a prevention than a treatment. But there is no money in preventative care.

[Broken_Hippo]

"But there is no money in preventative care"

Yes, there is. You just aren't looking in the right places.

Employers. Employees. Insurance companies and those that pay for insurance. Governments that provide health care to some or all of its citizens. Taxpayers that fund those programs.

[Groxx]

That's great to hear!

Can I bill you for the difference between what I pay for preventative care after insurance, vs what this implies the cost should be?

[lactau]

There is nothing about inflammation or Alzheimers in the title or anything else that would provide any kind of information. "Permanently changes the brain" is a meaningless buzzword.

[jakelazaroff]

Barely even 100 words in:

> The research shows that people with longer periods of untreated depression, lasting more than a decade, had significantly more brain inflammation compared to those who had less than 10 years of untreated depression.

[aje403]

I don't intend to shitpost but I think it's a good idea to question the usage of the word "significant" almost immediately unless it's coming from a physics or statistics PhD.

[iamcurious]

That is the opposite of a shitpost.

[Florin_Andrei]

> I think it is safe to assume that Long Term Happiness changes the brain "permanently" in the same manner.

Good intuition, and now we have hard scientific data to support it:

https://www.amazon.com/Altered-Traits-Science-Reveals-Medita...

Please note I am using a somewhat more general meaning of the word "happiness" than usually understood.

Also, in your statement I would replace "same manner" with "similar manner, opposite direction" or something like that.

[grinsekatze]

Thanks for the Link to the book, I put it on my list!

I have read "Relaxation Response" a few years back (https://www.amazon.com/Relaxation-Response-Herbert-Benson/dp...) and shortly after have practiced this method every day for 6 weeks with my partner. We did this by listening to the meditation "Bring Mindfulness to Your Day"[0] early in the morning and i recall this being a beautiful period of serenity for both of us. Highly recommend the meditation - her voice alone is incredibly calming, plus: it gave a good overview of different meditation techniques.

[0] This is the first track on Olivia Hoblitzelles meditation CD "Relaxing Mind and Body with the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine" which can be found here https://www.amazon.com/Relaxing-Mind-Benson-Henry-Institute-... and on itunes

[amelius]

The question is, can the change be reversed?

[joncrane]

I've found that once I recover from a tough time, when it happens again, I can tell myself "you've recovered from this before" and I have hope.

Recovering the first time is tough, but it pays dividends.