Depression In The United States

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When Abraham Lincoln’s first love Ann Rutledge died, he fell into a deep depression and suffered from chronic depression his entire life. Most researchers say that his depression led to his greatness (Random Facts). At some point in their lives, one out of every four Americans have or will experience depression. Depression is more common than it seems. Although depression is one of the mental illnesses that are not as easily seen, there are many ways to notice depression. Depression is very common in college students and can be treated. Major depression is common, disabling, and is usually a recurrent illness. Depression is a disorder of the brain (Holtzheimer). There are multiple symptoms and causes of depression, and if you can identify the …show more content…

Environmental factors are things that have happened to people in their lives which cause them to become depressed or encourage their depression. Studies have shown that if an individual grows up in a house with a depressed family member, they are more likely to become depressed (Faris). If one watches a depressed family member, they may learn to mimic that person when situations occur and may learn to become depressed themselves. With genetic and environmental factors, they go hand and hand in some situations. “In studies, a twin was found 76 percent likely to develop depression if his or her twin suffered from it. When the twins grew up in completely separate environments, that likelihood only decreased to 67 percent” (Faris). The 67 percent shows the amount of twins that grew up with depression from genetic factors and the 76 percent of twins that lived with their twins developed depression from the environment that they lived …show more content…

Most people use things such as alcohol abuse, drugs/painkillers, food, promiscuity, self mutilation, sleeping, and suicidal thoughts to help get rid of their sadness (Vann). Some people use these methods that have brought them relief or pleasure in the past without realizing that they aren’t actually treating their depression. Treating depression should be individualized by each person suffering. Some ways to help treat depression are: Talk therapy, medication, lifestyle changes, and addiction treatment (Vann). Since most people suffering from depression need individualized help, determining whether psychotherapy or medication would be better for the person is based off of trial and error (Depression). Most treatments work differently with different people because they became depressed over different

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