“Mental illnesses have evolved because it gives an advantage of fitness to the individual” How far

Mental illness in itself is a problem, however as humans we have not discovered a way to reverse or remove it. Although researchers have been able to establish common patterns in those who are diagnosed with mood disorders, we do not have any objective information at all. Researchers claim that it can be a combination of our genetics and brain chemistry. (MedWeb, 2015) Despite this gray area, we have discovered a way to suppress the symptoms of mental illness, however many of our children are paying for this at a high

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.

Thesis Statement: Depression is a serious mood disorder that affects our mental ability. So, it’s important to understand the causes and effects of this serious mental illness.

In Gary Greenberg's Manufacturing Depression: The Secret History of a Modern Disease, he takes an in depth look at the history behind depression, antidepressants, and how we have come to recognize and accept depression as a biochemical disease. When analyzing this book we can see that depression itself, whether it be a disease that is biochemically manifested or not, is deeply integrated into our society in a variety of ways as many aspects of society associated with depression have specific functions that are integral for society to function properly as a whole.

“Depression is an illness that increasingly afflicts people worldwide, interfering with concentration, motivation and many other aspects of human everyday functioning. It is a complex disorder, involving many systems of the body, including the immune system, either as cause or effect. Depression disrupts sleep, and loss of appetite, in some cases it causes weight loss, in other cases it cause weight gain. Because of its complexity, a full understanding of depression has been elusive. Depression involves mood and thoughts as well as

Depression affects close to 19 million Americans, 9.5% of the population in any one given one-year period. At some point in life 10% - 25% women and 5% -12% of men would probably become clinically depressed. Furthermore it affects so many people that it is regularly referred to as the mental illness “common cold”. It is predicted that depression exacts an economic cost of over $30 billion each year, but the value of human torment can’t be measured. Depression not only causes discomfort to those who are depressed, but in a like manner it causes misery for their friends and family who usually don’t know how to help. There are 9 categories of depression, the first type is called major depressive disorder this syndrome decreases a person’s ability to eat, sleep, work, and function as he or she typically would. It stops people from enjoying activities that used to be pleasurable, and it often makes them to think negative about the world and themselves. Major depression is generally debilitating and may occur in several occasions in a person’s lifetime. The second type of depression is called Dysthymic disorder and it is a moderate however more enduring type of major depression, someone with dysthymia may seem to be chronically mildly depressed to the point that it appears to be a factor of their personality is not common for someone to struggle with this condition

There is an ongoing debate whether mental illness is caused by genetic or environment. Although many argue that genetics is the cause, I believe that there is greater chance of it being environmental. I believe that mental illness is caused by environment because there are many factors that contribute to environment which include: a traumatic situation an individual encounter, feelings of inadequacy, or social and cultural expectations from an individual.

The history of depression reaches back into ancient Mesopotamian times depression was first labeled "melancholia" (Nemade, Reiss & Dombeck, 2007). During this period, people were certain that melancholia was caused by supernatural possession. Thus, the initial documented perception of depression was that is was a spiritual or mental sickness, and not a somatic one (Nemade, et al., 2007). The view of depression as a spiritual or mental illness stayed this way until the 19th and 20th century (Nemade et al., 2007). In 1950, scientists started looking for more organic causes of depression and divided the disorder into subtypes based on what was believed to have caused the disorder (Nemade et al., 2007).

Michael T. Walker, a psychologist who wrote the article, The Social Construction of Mental Illness and its Implications for the Recovery Model, argues mental illnesses were created by society. He begins by talking about the change in thought during the scientific revolution. During this time period, individuals were dependent on science

A number of large-scale studies indicate that depression rates have increased worldwide over the past several decades. Furthermore, younger generations are experiencing depression at an earlier age than did previous generations. Social scientists have proposed many explanations, including changes in family structure, urbanization, and reduced cultural and religious influences.

Today, mental illness has been the scapegoat for most crimes today. From mass shootings to bombings, most people have blamed mental illness for the cause of these crimes. Moreover, even some defense attorneys have even had cases in which they claimed their client had a mental illness in order to receive a lesser sentence. However, in order to truly understand mental illness, we must first look at the history of people studying the brain. The history of the study of the brain, psychology, dates back to ancient Greece. By using the scientific reasoning, Hippocrates speculated that human temperament can vary by a person's physical qualities, such as yellow bile or too much blood (Smith). Many philosophers during this time period might have only

Lastly, the assumption that mentally ill people are distinctly different from mentally well people can lead to labelling and prejudice against those defined as abnormal under the biological model. It also has practical implications such as institutionalisation

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.