Biological Causes Of Depression Essay

One of the most common psychiatric disorders is known as clinical depression and affects anywhere between 3% and 13% of the population with some form of depressive symptoms affecting as much as 20% of the adult population at some point in their lives (Amenson & Lewinson, 1981; Kessler et al., 1994; Oliver & Simmons, 1985, as cited in Antonuccio, Danton, & DeNelsky, p. 574). The concept of ‘harmful dysfunction’ advanced by Horwitz and Wakefield (2007) describes two key components of clinical depression: a dysfunctional mechanism and the dysfunction being harmful to the individual (as cited in, Parker & Paterson, p.405). This paper explores the following questions: what does research indicate about clinical depression and what are the implications for treatment? Reviews are presented in regards to the emergence of depression and psychotherapy versus medication to treat clinical depression. Considerations are briefly discussed and the research paper will conclude with an interpretation of the critical points.

Depression is caused by a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors (“Depression: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments” 2015). Researchers are becoming increasingly aware that depression runs in families (Kam,2009) meaning that certain genes may make people prone to depression suggesting a biological vulnerability. The biological factors that have some effect on the hereditary and biological influences of depression are the genes, hormones, and brain chemicals.

Major depression is a commonly diagnosed psychological disorder affecting individuals’ ability to feel happiness and peace of mind. Those who suffer experience negative emotions, lack of motivation, changes in behaviour and dysfunctional cognitive symptoms. Depression is classified by the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-5) as five of more of the listed symptoms present persistently over the same two weeks. One of these symptoms must be depressed mood or loss of interest in previously pleasurable activities. Depression causes disruption to typical daily life such as inability to maintain friendships and jobs. Other symptoms outlined by the DSM-5 include; insomnia, fatigue and recurrent thoughts of death. There is much debate over what exactly causes depression. Biological explanations question hereditary and neurotransmitter factors. While psychological theories include the cognitive ideas of Beck’s negative triad and hopelessness theory. This essay will focus on the ways in which psychological and biological explanations contrast and how their theories can overlap to better understand depression.

According to Image vision, there are many reasons why a person may want plastic surgery. This may be due to social acceptability, change of facial muscles, aging, removal of scars and moles, skin diseases, change gender, and facial trauma (Michele Nappia Stefano Ricciardia MassimoT istarell, 2016). Over time, the surgery may change the facial features enough that the person's face is unrecognizable. is up to the patient to have surgery. Plastic surgery is related to a complex of social

The article, "Quantifying the impact of chronic conditions on a diagnosis of major depressive disorder in adult focuses on the background on the diagnosis and how chronic illness can lead to major depressive disorder. The researcher conduct a study at Mayo clinic with patients that were diagnosed with a chronic illness. Researchers found that patients with specific chronic illness such as diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis/osteoarthritis may have a greater change of being diagnosis with major depressive disorder.

People who suffer from depression may experience learned helplessness, which is a behavioral view. This can be when someone has so much stress that they cannot handle, they stop trying to handle it. When they can no longer handle their stress, they become helpless, which will lead to hopelessness. The cognitive theory is more about the thought process and what one may believe when he or she is suffering from depression. People who are depressed may think that they are worthless if they fail a test, or if they do not make all As for a semester. People who constantly think about negative experiences may develop depression, but also other disorders. Another sign of depression is when someone is always trying to figure out what caused something else to happen. One may say it is their fault the assignment was turned in late and because of that he or she will now fail the class. He or she looks at something happening because of something negative. When someone looks at life in a negative way he or she has a pessimistic view on life; however, having an optimistic view is the opposite. People with the optimistic view may say the professor will give out more than just that assignment and they can make it up.

(3) While successful drug therapies which act on neurotransmitters in the brain imply that depression is a neurobiological condition (4), the fact that such medications do not help about 20 percent of depression-sufferers seems to show that not all depression is due to such imbalances. Rather, depression is not caused by one single factor; it is most often caused by many different things. Genetics, biochemical factors, medicines and alcohol, developmental and other external factors, and relationships, marriage and children all have effect on the development of clinical depression. (5) The strongest hypotheses on the pathways to depression are in decreases in the activity of specific neurotransmitters, or the overactivity of certain hormonal systems. (3)

Based on the article “coping with chronic illness and depression” which reviewed by Joseph Goldberg, illnesses that indicate the higher rate of depression among patients are heart attack, coronary artery disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic pain syndrome. Live a whole life with such illnesses is really a big challenge and complication.

Today, depression ranks as one of the biggest health problems. It was shown that 6.7 percent of Americans above 18, which is around 15 million people, suffer from depression in 2005 and it is still growing (DBSA). Although there have been many studies in the past and today about depression, it is still considered mysterious and have many questions yet to be answered such as “Is depression a type of reaction, or is it a disease?” and “Is depression caused primarily by psychological stress and conflict, or is it related primarily to a biological derangement?” (Beck). People have not found an universal answer to these many mysterious questions, yet they all agree that depression is important and serious. Among all the disease, depression has caused the most human suffering. Depression, after schizophrenia, has the most admissions to mental hospitals in the U.S. and is five times more prevalent than schizophrenia outside hospitals (Beck). Aaron T. Beck, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine who is regarded as the ‘Father of Cognitive Therapy’, defines depression in terms of the following attributes:

In unit seven, this learner took part in a debate involving the causes of depression. Depression is a debilitating mental disorder that can be detrimental to a person’s way of living. For centuries, psychologists and researchers have been searching for a single cause of depression, identifying two perspectives to date. The cognitive-behavioral perspective includes influences of faulty thinking that develops from low self-esteem and or a learned helplessness. In addition, cognitive-behavioral perspective indicates environmental influences such as poor living conditions and socioeconomic issues as causes of depression. However, this learner presented evidence along with personal experiences to support the biological perspective of the

The severity of depression has been supported through scientific evidence that indicates that depression has a biological basis in the brain of a depressed person along with psychological and social implications. Whilst there are many catalysts in a person’s life that can be identified as a possible root cause of depression, such as stressful life events or the death of a loved one, the issue is far more complex, as the biological triggers of depression are not as easily expressed, such as faulty mood regulation in the brain, vulnerable genetics in the DNA, and other medical problems. Many things are altered in the brain of the depressed person. Firstly, what most understand to be an imbalance in the levels of chemicals that regulate emotions, is in reality far more elaborate. The true issue surrounding the many chemicals involved inside and outside of the nerve cells that undergo numerous chemical reaction which make up the dynamic system that is responsible for mood, perceptions, and the way one experiences life you experiences life can be altered in different ways that affect how one lives. Along with the brains chemicals, the connections between nerve cells called neurons decrease and deteriorate, meaning the

Depression has numerous causes and effects which affect not only the person but the people around them. Depression doesn’t have a specific cause; in most cases it’s different for everyone. It is a common, treatable mental illness that can be experienced at any time in life. It is often described with feeling sad, unhappy, miserable, or “down in the dumps”. Most people have these feelings on occasion. There are several types of depression. These different types of depression describe slight, but often important, diagnostic differences. True clinical depression interferes with mood disorder in everyday life for weeks, months, or even years. Most people think depression affects only one

Depression is the most common of all psychological disorders, affecting 100 million people worldwide. The depression ranges from mild feelings of uneasiness, sadness, and apathy to intense suicidal despair. (Kasschau) If left untreated, it could lead the

Over the years, people have argued and discussed about what could be possible causes of depression. Some experts believe that a person’s genes could be a determinative of whether he or she is inclined or genetically predisposed, to depression. Experts point it to the fact that depressive genes could run in families. Other specialists lessen the role of the person’s genetic, arguing that depression is generally caused by stress, trauma, or physical or mental illness.

The term depression is widely misused in today’s society. All human beings experience periods in life where they are sad for a relatively short period of time, which is considered normal. Those who experience sadness for extended periods may be suffering from depression. Two terms used to reference the classifications of depression, are Major Depressive Disorder, and Dysthymia. Individual diagnosis of these classifications is dependent on the length of time, and severity of symptoms experienced by the individual. The causes for these depressive states can be due to genetics or the insufficient production of neurotransmitters, which provide the brain with the data necessary to regulate one's psychological well being. Two examples