Causes Of Major Depression

Depression is a common mental disorder, characterized by sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, feelings of tiredness, and poor concentration. Depression can be long-lasting or recurrent, substantially impairing an individual’s ability to function at work or school or cope with daily

Depression is characterized by depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, changes in weight or appetite, insomnia or hypersomnia, psychomotor agitation, loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, difficulty concentrating, or recurrent thoughts of death. A diagnosis of major depressive disorder requires the presence of five or more symptoms during the same two-week period and

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.

Depression is mental illnesses characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, despair and worthlessness that interfere with daily functioning and personal relationships. It is an illness caused by an imbalance of the chemicals in the brain. It affects about 19 million people and cost billions in any given year (Ford-Martin). Some of the symptoms of depression are having a hard time focusing, constant crying, and loss of interest or pleasure in ordinary everyday activities, sleep problems, problems with eating and weight (gain or loss). Depression strikes all age groups, and often goes unrecognized or inadequately treated.

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn't worth living.

No one knows the exact etiology of depression. Depression is a disorder that is still being examined, just like many other mental disorders the etiology depends on multiple factors. Some factors include biological differences, life events, brain chemistry, and hormones. Even though clinical professions have multiple benchmarks to reference depression etiology still depends on the individual person. An example for the unknown etiology of depression could be as something as simple as a scar on a person face. To a male who plays football, a scar on his face may not affect him. But if a female has a scar on her face it means a lot because females are often judge based on their appearance. Having a scar on a females face could be a reason

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn't worth living, (Mayo). Depression is not like a general illness and it is not something you can just go purchase and over the counter medicine for. Physicians have yet to find any causes of depression. It is believed to be the root of a chemical imbalance of the brain, which related to genes or stress in a person's life.

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.

Also called clinical depression, is a mood disorder characterized by a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Depression affects how the patient feels, thinks and behaves and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical effects. Patients diagnosed with depression may have trouble doing day to day activities or may feel as if life is not worth living. Depression is diagnosed when a patient experiences severe symptoms that interfere with his/her to work, sleep, study, eat and enjoy life. An episode of depression can occur only once in a patient’s lifetime, but more often than not, a patient will experience several episodes.

Each of these changes no matter good or bad can cause stress or anxiety in somebody’s life which can lead to depression ("Helping Someone with Depression."). Moreover, somebody’s family history is a large factor in undergoing depression. People can inherit genes from their blood relatives who have had depression, that make them more likely to develop depression themselves. The last huge factor in increasing depression are the the chemicals in one’s brain, "Helping Someone with Depression." stated, “Scientists have found that when the level of the brain chemicals become too high or low the chemical imbalance causes symptoms of depression.” Likewise according to "Depression (major Depression) Causes.” said, “Recent research proves that changes in the function and effect of these neurotransmitters (naturally occurring brain chemicals) and how they interact with neural circuits (nerve cells that carry information) involved in maintaining mood stability may play a significant role in depression and its treatment.” Overall, this means that imbalance of the brain chemicals is one of the leading causes in depression among people of all

In this sense, a person who has this gene is genetically predispositioned to show signs of this illness at one point or another in their life. Another factor is the physical makeup of the human brain. In people with severe depression, the amygdala, thalamus, and the hippocampus are three main parts of the brain that are affected. The activity in the amygdala, the part of the brain that recognizes and responds to fear, increases. The thalamus may experience problems that will impact how the brain responds to unpleasant feelings. The hippocampus, when in conjunction with the amygdala, may function incorrectly and this results in a smaller hippocampus because of the release of hormones the fear triggers. The growth of the hippocampus is stunted, and it may even shrink after prolonged exposure to certain hormones. As these factors come along and place stress on a person, their brain responds in such a way that symptoms of depression can be seen. These symptoms include feelings of being “empty”, constant pessimism, low self-esteem, insomnia, and loss of interest just to name a few (Anxiety and Depression Association of America). These are not the only symptoms of

Depression is a serious medical condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a normal way. It brings together a variety of physical and psychological symptoms which together constitute a syndrome. At least 10% of people in the U.S. will experience major depressive disorder at some point in their lives. Twice as many women as men experience major depression and is known as the common cold among psychological disorders. Like the common cold, there are many types of depression.

Depression is a mood disorder which causes persistent feelings of sadness and loss of interest; affecting how you feel, think, behave and can ultimately lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. “Depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. In 2014, around 15.7 million adults age 18 or older in the U.S. had experienced at least one major depressive episode in the last year, which represented 6.7 percent of all American adults. At any point in time, 3 to 5 percent of adults suffer from major depression; the lifetime risk is about 17 percent. As many as 2 out of 100 young children and 8 out of 100 teens may have serious depression.” (ADAA, 2017) Depression is the leading cause of disability in the US.

The exact causes of major depressive disorder are extremely complex and cannot be attributed to a single genetic, social, environmental or developmental theory. It is a multifactorial and heterogeneous disorder involving several factors which are simultaneously linked to the development or precipitation of the disorder. The symptoms which are linked to the disorder reflect changes in the monoamine neurotransmitters of the brain, more specifically noradrenaline, serotonin and dopamine. Variations in the genes which are responsible for encoding serotonin transporter proteins account for early childhood experiences being translated into an increased risk of major depressive disorder through stress sensitivity in adulthood.

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.