Depression affects about six to seven percent of the U.S. population (Archives of General Psychiatry, 2005, p. 617-627). The six to seven percent who are affected by depression are people eighteen years and older (Archives of General Psychiatry, 2005, p.617-627). This statistic is shows that depression is a major problem in young adults today. This statistic also shows that the prime age of depression are people who are most likely in college. Many people this age will not receive treatment due to stigma (DBSA, 1999). People are ashamed of their illness and will not ask for help simply because of what other people might think of them (CANMAT, 2012). Depression is a real issue in college students and there are medical reasons and causes to why depression occurs. Harvard Medical School did research on depression to inform people of how and why depression forms, and some of the biological processes that are happening in the brain when someone has depression. The brain is an important part of depression because it helps regulate mood (Harvard Medical School, 2009). The nerve connections, the functioning nerve circuits, and nerve growth in the brain are also an important part of depression (Harvard Medical School, 2009). Researchers found that the hippocampus was significantly smaller in people who were depressed (Harvard Medical School, 2009). The areas in the brain that are known to be affected by depression are the hippocampus, amygdala, and the thalamus (Harvard Medical
Over the years, it has been evident that many scholars, researchers, and mental health professionals in the psychology field are heavily relying on college/university students when studying mental health conditions. More specifically, a prominent mental condition that has dramatically risen over the years in its prevalence is what most people encounter at least once in their lifetime but the extreme aspects of this disorder causes excruciating emotional pain and is highly debilitating. This disorder is depression. Depression is a disorder on a spectrum and the more extreme the illness is, the higher level of damaging effects it has,
The use of distressed college students as analogues for depression research, however, is not sufficient in meaningfully advancing our current knowledge of depression and its treatment. Due to ease of access and convenience, the excessive reliance on this sample has made some researchers neglect crucial and noteworthy differences. This paper will address these critical differences including severity and symptomatology, issues of generalizability and problems with the psychometrics. Lastly, this paper will illustrate how research of college students as analogue samples does not need to be discontinued; rather, several suggestions to improve this research will be explored. Currently, there are two views in the literature regarding depression:
Through my research, I’ve learned that in terms of depression, there are three major parts of the brain that play a significant role in the illness: the amygdala, the hypothalamus, and the hippocampus. The limbic system, as a whole, and other parts of the brain are also involved when dealing with depression. However, the amygdala, hypothalamus, and hippocampus are three parts that show up most commonly when researching the effects of depression on the brain. The amygdala – like the other effected parts of the brain – is part of the limbic system, which is a set of structures in the brain that controls actions and emotions that ensure survival. The amygdala is primarily associated with emotions like anger, fear, pleasure, sorrow, and sexual arousal. Activity in the amygdala is higher when sad or depressed. The hypothalamus acts to regulate things like body temperature, appetite, sleep, sex drive, stress reaction, aggressive behavior, reactions to pain, and it helps control the pituitary gland – which regulates hormone control. When dealing with depression, the hypothalamus is prone to hyperactivity. Finally, the hippocampus’ role in the brain is to make short term memories into long term memories. It also plays an important role in spatial navigation. In depressed people, the hippocampus is generally smaller than those not suffering from depression. Brain activity, as a whole, is generally lower in people suffering from the
Depression is a feeling of severe despondency and dejection. This is a common mental illness that adults and young people live with for their rest of their life. Every human is prone to being dressed. This can come off as a negative or positive affect. This can be how you act or feel. Depression is not only affects the mind, but it affects the body. The brain has three parts. The hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex. The hippocampus is in the center of the brain is can cause of memory problems, the amygdala facilitates emotional responses, such as satisfaction and be afraid. Lastly the prefrontal cortex is in the front of the brain it.
College students with depression are in need of receiving more help from their peers rather than seeking help from a health professional. This is due to people often being reluctant to communicate and seek help when they encounter depression
Relate to Audience: A lot of college students suffers from depression daily. The stress from being in an unfamiliar environment, working and going to school at the same time can be a very heavy load to deal with. On
“According to recent estimates, 14.9% of college students have experienced diagnosed depression and up to 41% report clinically elevated depressive symptoms levels”
Depression. Depressed. Depressing. These are all used in our daily lives. We state that someone who is down ‘depressed’ because they failed a test is. Someone who has recently had an argument is ‘depressed’ about it. If someone isn’t completely happy, they must be ‘depressed’. NO! That is not depression. That is not what having and suffering from depression ever is.
Depression has been known to affect more than 350 million people worldwide every year (World Health Organization, October 2015) and the illness does not discriminate on age, race, ethnicity or religion. The definition pulled from the Mayo Clinic sums up depression as a mood disorder that causes loss of interest and sadness (Mayo Clinic Staff, 1996-2016), yet depression goes much further than just lack of interest in activities and sadness. Depression can affect sleeping habits, fluctuate weight management, limit concentration, and even go as far as stimulate suicidal thoughts (American Psychological Association, 2016). When identifying who is affected the most with this mental illness, data is populated from different studies to identify underlying causes. In this case, depression amongst students in college will be the population of focus and the three main determinants being concentrated on will consist of the economic stability of a student, the neighborhood resided in before entering college and while attending college, and the health and/ or health care held by the student in college.
Studies have shown that three neurotransmitters, norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine, can be associated with the cause and course of the depressive disorder. Even though research is still on going, the findings are still intriguing (El Mansari et al., 2010; Torrente, Gelenberg, & Vrana, 2012). Depression also seems to be correlated with specific structural features in the brain (Andrus et al., 2012). People with the depressive disorder may have irregularities in certain areas of the brain, such as: the amygdala, the prefrontal cortex, and the hippocampus. For example, some regions of the right cortex show significant thinning in people who face a high risk of developing major depressive disorder (Peterson et al., 2009). Otherwise, the depressive disorder most likely forms as a result from a complex interplay of many neural factors. The roots of depression have not been fully clarified yet, but frequent research is being done to understand what exactly is happening when the body is undergoing depression.
Living in this modern age and its constant advances in technology implies facing serious challenges. These many challenges, among them being global warming, third-world country hunger and poverty, nuclear weapons, cancer, and so on; one of such issues that poses a significant threat to modern people and is not discussed very often is depression. Depression has seen an enormous increase in recent years and has caught the attention of important figures across the globe. The causes and effects of this illness is what I will be explaining in this discourse.
This is a general description of Major Depression. Everybody gets it! Major depression is also known simply as depression. Depression is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of low mood that is present across most situations. It is often accompanied with low self-esteem, loss of interest in normally enjoyable activities. Some symptoms could include Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood, Feelings of hopelessness, or pessimism, Irritability, Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness, Difficulty sleeping, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping, and lots more things. Depression is usually treated with medications, psychotherapy, or a combination of the two. No two people are affected the same way by
Depression, a word we all have heard, not all of us understand, and a select few are trying to dissect. However, in doing so, theories are created, and sometimes those same theories will have negatives consequences. In an attempt to further understand depression, I chose Depression’s Upside. If one were simply reading the title, one would assume this would be about some sort of break through in the Psychology field of research, or at the very least an optimistic view on depression. However, the entire article was based on the idea that reasons for depression were causes of it.
So the whole thing is about depression, and about how to overcome it. There is a secondary story running throughout about how DC comics works and Morrison 's critique of that but it also serves the depression metaphor.
Depression is a very hard task to deal with as it is a illness that just doesn’t go away after time. Mental Illness is very prevalent amongst men especially amongst african american youths. The high school to college era of their live is very influential and has the ability to really affect their personality. If gone unnoticed this could begin a negative cycle for the youth and I believe recognizing this issue before it takes full effect is where we can begin to help these youth.