I once read a theory that depression is an adaptive mechanism linked with neural plasticity and our bodies way to relearn how to behave under drastically changed circumstances.

Think, the most common causes for depression are serious loss. I lost one of my pets and it was crushing, even though it really wasn't a significant life, it was a pet I cared for every single day. That actually lead me to buying a house, I literally couldn't deal with the fact that in an apartment I had to garbage can something I loved and couldn't bury it in a grave.

When my childhood dog passed away, I hadn't seen it in three years as I'd moved continent. It was sad, but it didn't alter my life in any way.

> I am a monkey, living in a capitalist dream... or nightmare.

It sounds like you underwent a major paradigm shift, which could be the cause of your depression.

Personally I've found myself far less hateful. I can empathise with anyone and everything when I want to (which is a super-bonus for the writer in me). Like the shooting in Ottawa, I found myself feeling sorry for the shooter and his family as much or more than the victim. They're going to receive a lot of unfair attention and treatment, only because the guy was a convert to Islam and no one's going to pay attention to the grievous failures of the system that at every stage of failure could have potentially stopped this event ever being a possibility. Maybe instead of kicking a crack addict who didn't know how to get the right help, had been helped we wouldn't have two dead and lives torn apart.

My mind never once thought that way before I used psychedelics. I was intelligent, but my ability to project my understanding onto others was all but non-existent.