Defining Depression: Endogenous Materialities, Exogenous Immaterialities

Definitions are narratives in action, implying a need to track down the ontology of what is defined. Inthis case, we explore the mutual tension and/or symbiosis (with consonant and dissonant spaces)arising from the definition of depression. We approach the term ‘depression’ as a controversialsubject, mapping a comparison between lay and expert narratives on the malaise, and makinguse of digital ethnography as the methodology. A self-administered online open questionnaire wascompleted with the definitions of 29 lay respondents. In addition, expert narratives were gatheredwith the definitions of 9 health institutions’ web sites, and public mediation forums. Definitionsechoed from both spaces, with splits between biological materiality and psychological-socialimmateriality, with a reiteration of the division between exogeneity and endogeneity, respectively.Here, the emotiveness of the subject can be seen as stemming from the sum of reductionismsand cumulative factors as to what depression is. Finally, we consider other possible ontologiesof depression that either: (1) take socio-material assemblies into account or (2) follow thepragmatical turn, defining depression in action. This research opens new approaches towardsidentifying external materialities, shifting the blame from the diagnosis of the individual towardsthe mechanisms that spawn harmful relationships.