Overview of Depression

1880 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: causes and effects of depression

Depression is sometimes mistaken as the typical sad feeling all humans get once in a while. However, the distinct difference between depression and those typical sad feelings are that depression is long-term whereas feeling sad is short-term. Depression is a mental illness that should be taken seriously as this illness can affect the individual emotionally and physically, and impair the daily life. So what is it that causes depression? This is the big question psychologists try to answer through research but their explanations do not explain how those who face one of those factors, only a few are able to avoid developing depression. Everyone thinks and behaves differently, but there are specific personal factors such as one’s negative personalities, chronic illnesses, and substance abuse that causes each individual to respond in a similar and certain way, thus causing them to be prone to developing a depressive disorder. Low self-esteem and negative personality styles can cause depression due to its negative influences on the individual’s mind. Chronic illnesses triggers depression due to its biological and psychological effects. Lastly, substance abuse affects an individual’s mood, personal life, and health causing vulnerability to developing depression. Research has shown that there are negative personality traits that can cause an individual to be prone to becoming depressed. An individual’s negative personality traits can lead them to be perceived more negatively by others, which leads them to feel hurt and rejected (Whitbourne, 2013, para. 9). This is simply because no one likes to be around someone who is consistently negative since they bring negativity into the environment which also brings down other people’s mood. It is... ... middle of paper ... ...://apt.rcpsych.org/content/8/4/297.full Mulholland, C. (2010, September 22). Alcohol and Depression. Netdoctor. Retrieved March 23, 2014, from http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/depression/alcoholanddepression_000486.htm Parker, G., & Manicavasagar, V. (2012, April 13). Personality Type and Depression. Medical Observer. Retrieved March 23, 2014, from http://www.medicalobserver.com.au/news/personality-type-and-depression Thomas, A. (2010, July 20). Depression and Physical Illness. Netdoctor. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/depression/depressionandphysicalillness_000601.htm Whitbourne, S. K. (2013, February 26). Is Low Self-Esteem Making You Vulnerable to Depression?. Psychology Today. Retrieved March 23, 2014, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201302/is-low-self-esteem-making-you-vulnerable-depression

Show More
Related

  • More than a Bad Case of Blues: Clinical Depression

    1639 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ahmad, Sahrish. "Yes, Depression Can Kill You." The Express Tribune Blog RSS. 21 Oct. 2012. Web.

    Read More

  • Major Depressive Disorder

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    Depression is an illness within itself that affects the “whole body”. (Staywell,1998) The body, feelings, thoughts, and behavior are all immensely altered when someone is depressed. It is not a sign of personal weakness, or a condition that can be wished or willed away. For some people depression is just temporary, but for others it can last for weeks, months and even years.

    Read More

  • Disorders and Treatments for Depression

    1435 Words  | 3 Pages

    Depression is considered a mental disorder that can lead an individual to commit suicide, experiment fatal risk that can injure his or her life. Furthermore, an individual feeling depressed lacks motivation to do anything progressive with his or her life. With that said, these individuals sometime gives up interest in activities that were once enjoyable, gets in a phase were he or she loses appetite, begins to overeat, loses concentration on what he or she is trying to complete, and becomes indecisiveness. Moreover, depression is a condition that makes an individual feel miserable, have no motivation to any activity that can influence his or her views, actions, welfare. Furthermore, depressed individuals at times may feel sad, apprehensive, desperate, destitute, useless, awkward, short-tempered, and agitated. In addition, the melancholy of depression is categorized by a greater concentration and length that is attached to severe symptoms. According to Wedding & Corsini (2014) states, “Physical disease, severe and acute stress, and chronic stress area also precipitating factors” (Pp. 240) of an individu...

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Mental Illness

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    Self-esteem is a psychological factor of depression, having a low self-esteem can increase chances of developing depression. Having a low self-esteem means viewing yourself in a negative way, not being appreciative of your appearance. A person with a negative attributional style may blame himself when bad things happen in his life, even when those events were of his his control. Over time, this pattern may contribute to depression (Hazen 83). Some social factors can also play a critical role in the development of depression. Having good relationships with family members and friends can help shield against social

    Read More

  • Vulnerability to Depression

    901 Words  | 2 Pages

    In a biological outlook on depression, abnormal genetic or biochemical processes incline some individuals to depression. Conversely, in a cognitive perspective, the way people understand events in their lives has a very important effect on their weakness to depression. One example of a cognitive perspective is the hopelessness theory in which people believe that negative events in their lives are stable and global in that it will last “forever” and will affect everything he or she does causing a maladaptive cognitive (Alloy, Abramson, Francis, 1999). This article proposes that negatively biased negative self description provides the foundation for a cognitive vulnerability to depression. That is, a person whose mind set is negatively biased when processing information about one’s self may be particularly vulnerable to depression. For instance, when confronted with an unfamiliar situation, a vuln...

    Read More

  • Clinical Depression

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    Suicide and Depression: Risk Factors and Warning Signs of Suicide." WebMD. WebMD. Web. 14 May 2014

    Read More

  • Late Adulthood and Depression

    1568 Words  | 4 Pages

    Depression is defined as "a state of despondency marked by feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness" (Coon, 2001). Some people can mix up depression with just having the blues because of a couple of bad days or even weeks. It is already said that depression affects about one sixth of the population or more (Doris, Ebmeier, Shajahan, 1999). Depression can happen in any age range from birth to death. The cause of depression is still obscure and becoming clear that a number of diverse factors are likely to be implicated, both genetic and environmental. Some causes are leading stressful lives, genetic factors, a previous depressive episode, and the personality trait neuroticism (Doris, et al., 1999).

    Read More

  • Great Depression Research Paper

    372 Words  | 1 Pages

    My interest in health forked off to include mental health a few months ago.  However, since that time, trying to gain a better understanding of it.  Recently while reading on the 'Net, I came upon a quote explaining depression that made perfect sense to me.  "

    Read More

  • Depression: Symptoms, Types, and Treatments

    1957 Words  | 4 Pages

    Depression is an equal opportunity disorder, it can affect any group of people with any background, race, gender, or age. Depression is a sneak thief that slips quietly and gradually into people’s lives - robbing them of their time, and their focus. At first, depression may be undetectable, but in the long run a person could become so weighed down that their life may feel empty and meaningless. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone who commits suicide is depressed, but majority of people who commits suicide do so during a severe depressive episode. There are over 300 million people in the world today who suffer from depression. Depression has affected people for a long as records have been kept. It was first called out by the famous Greek philosopher Hippocrates over 2,400 years ago. Hippocrates called it “melancholia”. Many times we think of depression as one disorder alone, when in fact there are many different types of depression. The different types of depression are major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, atypical disorder, adjustment disorder, and depressive personality disorder. All types of depression share at least one common symptom. It is commons from the person who suffers from any form of depression to feel an unshakable sadness, anxious, or empty mood. Major depressive disorder also known as unipolar depression or recurrent depressive disorder is the most severe depressive disorder out of all of the depressive in my estimation. Major depressive disorder is a condition in which affects a person’s family, work or school life, sleeping, eating and general health. It is important to emphasize that we can understand the mechanics of this disorder and how it affects people with major depressive disorder.

    Read More

  • Mental Illness: Depression

    1817 Words  | 4 Pages

    Depression is a serious mental health illness which affects an individuals’ mind, body and mood. It is a chronic and lifelong health condition (NICE, 2006) thought to be caused by a number of biological factors including neurotransmitter disturbances in the brain and an element of genetic vulnerability; these are often in addition to psychosocial factors such as the occurrence of undesirable life events, limited social network options, poor self esteem and the occurrence of any adverse life events during a persons’ lifetime (Bernstein, 2006). Depression can have an impact on a persons’ ability to do many things including working, engaging with others, participating fully in family life or maintaining relationships, and it can also impact on a person...

    Read More

  • Opposing Viewpoints on Depression

    2443 Words  | 5 Pages

    Burton, Neel. "The Anatomy of Melancholy: Can Depression Be Good for You?" Lecture. TEDx. Narodni Dom, Maribor. 12 Nov. 2013. Youtube. 2 Mar. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • The First Gay Movie: Transamerica directed by Duncan Tucker

    2325 Words  | 5 Pages

    WENZLAFF, R.M. and PROHASKA, M. L., 1989. When misery prefers company: Depression, attributions, and responses to others' moods. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 25, pp.220-233.

    Read More

  • Anxiety and Depression

    1470 Words  | 3 Pages

    Croft, H. (2010). The line between anxiety and depression. Retrieved from Healthy Place, Americas Mental Health website: http://www.healthyplace.com/anxiety-panic/insights-into-anxiety/line-between-anxiety-and-depression/menu-id-1233/

    Read More

  • Low Self Esteem

    2358 Words  | 5 Pages

    Self dislike, depression loneliness and suicide have a very great role in one person’s self esteem. Although the above statistics made it seem to be impossible to overcome these feelings, the research hopefully gave us all the possible ways that we can be victorious and set ourselves free from this psychological slavery.

    Read More

  • Depression and Suicide

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    Depression affects everyone's life at sometime or another. Depression comes in a wide variety of forms, from mild unhappiness to a chemical imbalance in the mind. There are many different symptoms that reveal a person's problem with depression. If left untreated, depression may continue to develop into a serious illness or even death.

    Read More

More about Overview of Depression

Open Document