Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Depression causes and effects
What causes depression
What causes depression
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Depression causes and effects
Depression
Feeling grieve over difficult life decisions such as illness, death, divorce, or job lost are often mistakenly seen as depression. Grieving is normal as long as it does not last a significant amount of time or interferes with one’s daily activities (Association). Depression causes people to experience lack of interest and pleasure in daily activities, significant weight loss or gain, insomnia or excessive sleeping, lack of energy, inability to concentrate, feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. Depression is a medical illness that involves the brain. More than 20 million people in the United States alone struggle with depression (Health). Depression is most common in women and people between the ages of 15 and 30.
There are a few different forms and causes of depression. There is Major depression, Persistent depressive disorder, Psychotic depression, postpartum depression, Seasonal affective disorder, and bipolar disorder. The cause of depression is a combination of are genetic, environmental, psychological, and biochemical factors. Scientists are currently studying certain genes that may make people more prone to depression (Health). Stressful or psychosocial situations, trauma, sexual and physical abuse, neglect and illness also trigger depression. Drinking alcohol and using illicit drugs can also lead to depression, because drugs and alcohol affect the chemicals in the brain.
Depression affects the parts of the brain responsible for mood, thinking, sleep, appetite, and behavior. These areas are the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, thalamus, and amygdala.
Depressed people have imbalanced neurotransmitters. Brain neurons may decrease in size and density, also the prefr...
... middle of paper ...
...hobbies, they struggle with concentrating on things. Depression is highly treatable by talk therapy or medication. Depression not only affects the person depressed but also the people around that person. It is important to seek medical help for depression.
Works Cited
"Depression." Brain Explorer. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
"Depression Can Damage the Brain." Sciencenordic.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
"Depression: MedlinePlus Interactive Health Tutorial from the Patient Education Institute." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
"Depression: MedlinePlus." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
"Depression." NIMH RSS. National Institute of Mental Health, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
"Mental Health." Mental Health. Aids.gov, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
Williamson, J. S. (2008). Depression. Phi Kappa Phi Forum, 88(1), 18-18, 24. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.library.capella.edu/docview/235187495?accountid=27965
Mayo Clinic staff. “Depression (major depression).” Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2013.
Clinical depression, which affects about 10% of the adult population (Holtz, Stokes, 1138), is charact...
“Depression Across the Lifespan.” Depression Tool Kit. University of Michigan Depression Center. UMDC, 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.
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.
Major Depressive Disorder, which is also referred to as Clinical Depression, is a disorder caused when low serotonin levels, that suppress pain perception and are often found in the pineal gland at the center of the brain, promote low levels of norepinephrine, a monoamine neurotransmitter that controls cognitive ability. This disabling disorder interferes with a person’s daily life as it prevents one from performing normal functions, such as eating, sleeping, interacting, or enjoying once pleasurable activities. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the common symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder are continued feelings of anxiety, worthlessne...
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.
The exact causes of depression seem to differ immensely, but there are some who believe that it maybe caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, or that it may even be hereditary. Still there are others who believe that it is a combination of social, biological, emotional, psychological, and economical influences that may cause someone who has no family history of depression to develop even a mild case of depression.
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...
The biologic basis of Clinical Depression originates in the brain. Your brain is made up of a complex network of nerve cells, called neurons and of brain chemicals, called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters transmit messages from one neuron to another. Two of these neurotransmitters are not produced in sufficient quantities in a depressed person’s brain. Because of this lack, too few messages get transmitted between neurons and the symptoms of depression occur. In Clinical depression the chemicals in the brain are out-of-balance. New technology allows researchers to take pictures of the brain that show activity levels in the brain. These imaging techniques such as f-MRI and PET scan actually create images of how active different parts of the brain are. Some studies with these kinds of techniques have suggested that the patterns of activation in the brains of depressed people are different than those who are not. These tests can help doctors and researchers learn more about depression and other mental illnesses. Since this research is fairly new, it is not yet used to diagnose clinical depression.
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).
Depression is much more common than most people think. Because it is essentially an invisible illness and is largely in the mind, it is difficult to correctly diagnose it and most people suffer for months, years, or even decades with depression. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines depression as “a mood disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty with thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal thoughts or an attempt to commit suicide.” Most medical definitions are able to explain what happens and why it does, but after carefully examining this one, we only notice that it explains what happens, but not why. Usually, the symptoms of an illness are...
"Depression." NMH - Depression. National Institute of Mental Health. 1, 3. Web. 6 April 2014.
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.
Depression is a condition that affects one in every 10 people sometime during their lifetime. Over 80% of those people do not receive treatment or medication. Many people with depression have factors like obesity, sleep disorders, and lack of education.