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

1503 Words4 Pages

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...

... middle of paper ...

...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

Show More
Related

  • 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

  • To Write Love on Her Arms

    1675 Words  | 4 Pages

    NAMI - The National Alliance on Mental Illness. (n.d.). NAMI. Retrieved February 24, 2014, from http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=by_illness&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=61191

    Read More

  • Neuropsychology & Spouse/Family Members

    1818 Words  | 4 Pages

    I intend to explore the effects of a parietal brain injury from the perspective of a neuropsychologist; ranging from types of tests that are employed when trying to determine the extent of the damage, to gaining an understanding of how this damage will affect the rest of the brain and/or the body. I will also explore the effects of a brain injury from the perspective of the family members, and their experiences with the changes that occur during the rehabilitation process. According to The Neuropsychology Center, “neuropsychological assessment is a systematic clinical diagnostic procedure used to determine the extent of any possible behavioral deficits following diagnosed or suspected brain injury”(www.neuropsych.com). As mentioned previously, a brain injury can be the result of many types of injuries or disorders, thus a broad range of assessment procedures have been developed to encompass these possibilities.

    Read More

  • Media Portrayal of Mental Illness in America

    3886 Words  | 8 Pages

    U.S. Public Health Service.(1999). The Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health. Retrieved June 5, 2000, from http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/home.html. Veroff,J.,Douvan,E.,& Kulka,R.A.(1981).

    Read More

  • Abraham Lincoln’s Depression

    1906 Words  | 4 Pages

    "NAMI - The National Alliance on Mental Illness." NAMI. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.

    Read More

  • Native Americans and Mental Health

    2885 Words  | 6 Pages

    It is not common knowledge, but people can be genetically predisposed to develop depression during their lives. Depression runs in families. It can be passed d...

    Read More

  • Serotonin & Depression

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although historically depression has been considered a character condition, evidence has accumulated suggesting the role of a biological substrate, namely serotonin, in subgroups of depressed patients. This accumulated evidence supports the indoleamine hypothesis of depression, which suggests that major depression results from a deficiency of available serotonin or inefficient serotonin. (16). We see that depletions of serotonin from certain regions of the brain such as the hypothalamus, amygdala, and cortical areas involved in cognition and other high processes, can have a great impact in contributing to depression.

    Read More

  • Mental Health and the Homeless Community

    1116 Words  | 3 Pages

    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, 1999.

    Read More

  • Depression and Antidepressants

    2869 Words  | 6 Pages

    Through my extensive research on depression I have learned a lot of new things. I have learned about the many forms of depression and treatment for depression. I have also learned a little about what is believed to go on chemically in the brain of a clinically depressed person. I was also able to partially determine what sort of role genetics, chemicals and personal influences in the brain. Though I was unable to determine exactly how environmental and personal stress can cause a chemical imbalance in a person, I was even able to speculate about this issue and determine some theories of my own on why and how this may happen.

    Read More

  • My Personal Experience with a Mental Health Illness

    1375 Words  | 3 Pages

    "The Number Count: Mental Disorders in America." www.nimh.nih.gov. National Institutes of Health, 20143. 01 Apr 2014.

    Read More

  • Is Depression A Mental Issue Essay

    1696 Words  | 4 Pages

    Despite all the valid points made in these claims, it doesn’t change the fact that “An estimated 16 million American adults—almost 7% of the population—had at least 1 major depressive episode last year”(Numbers,n.d.) and that “People of all ages and all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds can experience depression” (Numbers, n.d.). People all over the world experience depression in many different forms. For some it is a mental illness that cripples the body, for the mind is powerful and has supreme control over the body to the point that it will continue to function for three minutes after the heart fails; as is the case with a personal friend of mine who has battled with depression since the seventh grade and has had to take many visits to the hospital and bottles of medications and various treatments in order to treat and fight off his depression that often prompts him to self-injury and causes him to get physically ill for many days. For

    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

  • St. John Wort

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    Depression is a mental illness, which affects millions of Americans each year. Currently there are many prescription drugs, called anti-depressants that have been proven to successfully treat it. The causes of depression are somewhat of a medical enigma, however, it is known that depression is associated with a change in the brains chemistry involving the function of neurotransmitters (Reichert). This chemical change occurs in healthy brain’s, which experience sadness, but ends after the unpleasant stimulus is removed. In people suffering from depression this chemical change does not correspond to any particular stimulus. Symptoms of depression are often incapacitating and include severe and extended sadness, feelings of worthlessness, feelings of emptiness, irritability and anxiety (Reichert, Spake).

    Read More

  • The Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis

    1696 Words  | 4 Pages

    Kahn, Ada P., and Jan Fawcett. The Encyclopedia of Mental Health. 2nd ed. New York: Facts On File, 2001.

    Read More

  • Mental Health: As Important as Physical Health

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kessler, Chiu . et. al."The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America."NIMH RSS. National Institute of Mental Health , n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

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

Open Document