Depression has a wide range and variety of characteristics that can interrupt the mental state and emotional state of someone. It affects 9% of adult Americana in a lifetime and can come from an outside event like a death, no cause at all, or it can start with reactive depression then turn into clinical depression. 15 million Americans deal with depression today and many different forms from major depression to bipolar disorder. (Rottenberg, 1991) Having symptoms for about two to four weeks, and showing loss of interest, or loss of appetite is a form of depression. Someone that is depressed normally experiences a continence of sadness or low self-esteem. It also effects concentration, everyday functions, and sleep and can also affect the immune system. Depression is also common in children, but is highly treatable in adults and children. Lets take a deeper look into the causes, ages of the individuals, symptoms, and treatment for depression, so we can better understand.
The depression illness has no obvious cause; it is an extreme complex disease, and sometimes a loss of a job, death of a loved one, or a breakup can trigger it. It can also have a genetic background because some disorders run in families. Scientist believes 40 percent of depressed individuals that have linked genetics and environment factors make up 60 percent, nature versus nurture. Having a viral infection, a baby (postnatal) or hormonal disorder can also contribute to depression. Abuse
Like symptoms, there are a variety of causes that can lead to depression. However, the main causes haven't been pinpointed, and are just speculated. Among these, biological factors are thought to be one of the main ones. Physical changes to the brain and hormonal imbalances are some major issues that could play a part biologically. Depression can also be passed genetically throughout your family, with even unborn babies at risk from getting it from their mother while in the
One in ten Americans at one point has had symptoms of depression at one point or another. Depression is most prevalent in people ages 45-64. Major depressive disorder affects approximately 14.8 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older, in a given year. While major depressive disorder can develop at any age, the most common age that it can appear is 32. Major depressive disorder is more prevalent in women than in men. As many as one in 33 children and one in eight adolescents have clinical depression (hotline, 2016). Depression is a common, serious illness and not a personal weakness. Depression can happen to anyone, at any age, and to people of any race or ethnic group. It is never a “normal” part of life. Depression is treatable and is thought to come from chemical imbalances in the brain, hormonal changes, medications or things going on in your
There are several factors that may contribute to depression and depending on the individual can be rooted from a single or multiple reasons. If one has a family history of the illness it increases the likelihood to develop it along with environmental influences that also aid in its progress (CITE-2). Also biological issues such as neurotransmitter imbalances in the brain can contribute to depression, for example at the pre and post-synapse of a neuronal cell (CITE-2). A pattern of pessimistic thoughts and low self-esteem can proliferate the illness, as a study conducted exhibited that affected individuals did not improve perceptions of their depression even after a neurotransmitter imbalance explanation (CITE-4).
Biopsychologists believe genetics plays a factor in depression for if one has depression it is more likely that a close relative may and will suffer from depression as well. In fact about 20 percent of those relatives suffer from depression as well (Comer, R. J. 2010). Sometimes the cause for depression is simply a chemical imbalance. Low activity of norepinephrine and serotonin has been linked to unipolar depression. As well as certain interactions between neurotransmitters and the endocrine system itself has been linked to depression.
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 a disorder that can be caused by many factors. Stress, medication, other medical illnesses, and personality traits can all contribute to depression, but the most common cause, however, is heredity (yahoo.com 1). These are all theorized guesses as to what causes clinical depression. The actual cause has not yet been resolved (yahoo.com 1). It is considered that usually more than one factor causes the disorder (yahoo.com 2).
There are many reasons that may lead a person into a state of depression and some of these issues may not be able to be fixed unless you seek professional help and assistance. Reasons causing depression can be biological, cognitive, gender, medications, genetics and situational issues. The issue that may cause biological depression can be caused from a person having to many or not enough brain chemicals that are referred to as neurotransmitters. Cognitive issues causing depression typically steam from a person having negative thoughts or low self esteem toward them. These issues may also lead them to assume other people think the same way about them. Gender issues that may cause depression for women throughout their lives may steam from the hormonal changes during menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth and menopause. One thing that is still unclear is if women develop depression issues at twice the rate of men. Issues that can be caused from medications may be caused by side effects of the medication or your body does not process the drug the way it is intended to be processed. Genetic depression puts you at a higher risk for having the same illness as family
The risk factors for depression are major life changes or increased stress, family history of depression, and little to none social support.
Depression. One of the most studied categories of mental illness (Muller & Erford, 2012). It can be expressed through a multitude of symptoms including loss of interest, sleep, low self-esteem, eating disorders, social isolation, fatigue, self-defeating impulses, and crying (Masip et al. 2010). Depression not only affects adults; but children and adolescents as well. In fact, it is the most common mental illness affecting children and adolescents (Huang & Dong, 2014). Depression affects 2.5% of children and 8.3% of adolescents (Huang
Some reasons for depression may be unemployment, grief, financial issues, smoking, poor sleep habits, where you live, too many decisions, poor sibling relationships, medication. People in school and any community should be concerned about the affects of depression for these many reasons suicide, addiction, self injury, reckless behavior, poor school
Depression is an extremely common mood disorder which is sometimes actually referred to as, “the common cold of mental illness.” It is actually the most common mood disorder for that matter (Frey). In the United States alone, about sixteen million people are affected by the sometimes deadly disease. The whole world combined actually has about 350 million people affected by depression, which makes up about 6.9 percent of the world’s population (Vann). Everybody has different triggers and causes for depression. Emotional loss can sometimes trigger a biochemical change, which then results in the horrible disability. A few more examples of some of the causes of depression include early childhood trauma, physical or emotional abuse (Ayer 18), low self-esteem, or even a family history of depression (Pietrangelo). There are numerous incidents of depression going unnoticed and turning into something even worse.
The exact cause of depression is not known, but there are several factors that play
Being one of the most common conditions today that is reported, depression, therefore, is also very commonly researched by experts and practitioners in that field. As stated beforehand, there are many factors that can contribute to depression, or sometimes even a combination of. Individuals that are depressed may face challenges such as loss of appetite, sleep, or interest in daily activities, feelings of
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.
Depression is not as simple as one may think. It is more than just feeling sad sometimes or having a bad day. Depression, the most common form of mental illness, is actually a brain disorder caused by an imbalance of chemicals in the brain (Hyde and Forsyth 6). There are many causes of depression including stressful life events like the loss of a loved one or physical or mental abuse (Mooney 16-17, 19). Depression can also be hereditary, meaning it is passed down genetically through families (Hyde and Forsyth 21). Numerous types of depression exist, but the three most common ones are major depression, manic depression, and dysthymia (Mooney 9-11).