The Root Cause of Depression: Biological, Cognitive-Behavioral, or Both?

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Depression is a debilitating mental disorder, which can be detrimental to a person’s way of living. For example, depression can cause an individual to have negative thoughts, experience chronic distress, and hopelessness (Pourbabaee, n.d.). Researchers focus on two causes of depression. Those who support the cognitive-behavioral perspective believe depression results from faulty thinking associated with low self-esteem or learned helplessness, as well as environmental influences such as the loss of a loved one or a job. Whereas, those who support the biological perspective believe depression results from the genes a person inherits, chemical imbalances that change the functions of the brain, as well as damage to the anatomy of the brain. In addition to these two perspectives, some believe that neither the one nor the other perspective alone causes depression, but that a combination of both influences the onset of the debilitating disorder.

This paper will address the biological issues that lead to depression. For example, does depression run in families? Do chemical imbalances cause depression? If so, do antidepressants alone help diminish the symptoms of depression? Do chemical imbalances change the functions of the brain? In addition to these questions, does damage to the anatomy of the brain cause depression? If so, what type of injury and to what regions of the brain damaged affects the emotional stability such as a person with depression may suffer? The evidence provided in this paper will show that the biological factors or influences take place before the cognitive-behavioral factors or influence comes into play (except for damage to the anatomy of the brain).

Inherited Genes

From the moment of conception, everyone recei...

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...ications. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38(4), 411-420. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.38.4.411

Mayo Clinic (2008). Understanding brain injury: A guide for the family. Retrieved August 20, 2011 from http://mayoresearch.mayo.edu/mayo/research/tbims/upload/ubi_families.pdf

NIMH, (1998). Mental Health: A report from the Surgeon General. Retrieved August 24, 2011 from http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter2/sec3.html

Pourbabaee, K., (n.d.). Brain chemistry/function & female depression. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from http://www.isacalls.com/A+Isagenix%20BRAIN%20CHEMISTRYDepression.pdf

Sullivan, P. F., Neale, M. C., & Kendler, K. S. (2000). Genetic epidemiology of major depression: Review and meta-analysis. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 157(10), 1552-1552-62. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/220490513?accountid=27965

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