COHERENCE

Martin Picard's remark

"My hunch is that most of what we call depression is a loss of coherence"

is intriguing precisely because it resists a narrow interpretation.

Coherence here is unlikely to mean mere logical consistency. In biology, the term often refers to the coordinated functioning of interconnected systems: cells communicating effectively, metabolism remaining balanced, physiological rhythms staying synchronized, and the body maintaining integration across multiple levels.

Given Picard's work on mitochondria and bioenergetics, his statement can reasonably be read as a hypothesis that depression involves, at least in part, a breakdown in this biological coordination rather than a single defective mechanism. The emphasis on "my hunch" is equally important, signaling that he is proposing an integrative framework rather than presenting an established scientific conclusion.

The idea also extends beyond biology. Psychologically, coherence may describe the integration of thoughts, emotions, motivation, memory, identity, and action into a relatively unified experience of self. 

A person may still possess intelligence, values, and desires, yet feel as though these no longer work together: what one knows, feels, wants, and does begin to drift apart. 

Philosophically, coherence invites an even broader reading, suggesting a life in which one's values, relationships, body, and sense of meaning are no longer experienced as parts of a connected whole. 

Whether or not Picard's hypothesis ultimately proves correct, its strength lies in shifting the question from "What is broken?" to "What has lost its integration?"—a perspective that encourages a more systemic, nuanced understanding of depression than explanations that reduce it to either biology alone or psychology alone.