Causes of Depression free essay sample

Feeling sad, or what we may call depressed, happens to all of us, but for most of us the sensation usually leaves after a while. However, people with a depressive disorder, such as clinical depression, find that their state interferes with their daily life. Depression is a condition of general emotional withdrawal. It is sadness greater and more prolonged and does not always have a reason. For people with clinical depression, their normal functioning is so different that both they and those who care about them are affected by it. Depression was initially called melancholia. The earliest known occurrences of melancholia appeared in ancient Mesopotamian texts in the second millennium B. C. At this time, all mental illnesses were said to be demonic possession, and were handled to by priests. Hippocrates, a Greek physician, had physical explanations for depression, as oppose to Cicero, a Roman philosopher, who had mental explanations for it. We will write a custom essay sample on Causes of Depression or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page So as you can tell, for millennia the human race has been trying to determine the causes depression. There are many different forms of depression such as Psychotic Depression (which occurs when depression co-exists ue to the fact that newborns can be overwhelming), Seasonal Affective Disorder also known as SAD (which occurs only in winter months due to low levels of natural sunlight), and Bipolar Disorder (which is cycling mood changes-from extreme highs to extreme lows). Depression can also co-exist with a variety of anxiety disorders, alcohol, drugs and serious medical illnesses, which lead to emotional and physical problems. Unlike other illnesses or disorders, there is no simple explanation as to what causes depression. In general, depression is caused by environmental, iological and psychological factors such as hormones, early childhood trauma and biological differences. Changes in the bodys balance of hormones are involved in causing or triggering depression, more specifically a hormone called corticotropin. Corticotropin plays a large role in flight aspect of the flight or fight method in the brain. It causes the release of other biochemicals that are triggered during the flight aspect of the method. People with depression often have irregularly large amounts of corticotropin. Hormone changes can also occur as a result from thyroid problems, menopause or a number of other conditions also. Hormones (ex. Testosterone, androgen, estrogen) are substances produced by the endocrine glands that have a significant effect on bodily processes. The glands in the endocrine system influence growth and development, mood, sexual function, reproduction, and metabolism (Goldberg, 2012). Levels of hormones, can be factors in depression, for example, if an individual lacks or has excessive amounts of any hormones it can have adverse effects including depression. The same is true about conditions related to the menstrual cycle, such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), pre-menopause, and menopause. Because depression and many other common medical conditions cause levels of hormones to fluctuate blood tests are usually ordered so as to make an accurate diagnosis. It is possible to have depression and menstruation-related symptoms or depression and thyroid symptoms at the same time. Women are more likely than men to be diagnosed with depression because women are more prone to hormone fluctuations. Some women experience depression-related symptoms such as sadness and fatigue prior to menstruation. These symptoms are part of the premenstrual syndrome, or PMS. When pregnant, women are subject to physical and motional changes caused by changes in hormone levels. After pregnancy, women experience a huge shift in hormone levels. Baby blues, a mild type of depression that follows child birth immediately and resolves quickly is most likely the cause of this shift. A more severe form of this depression post-partum depression could also be the result. When women get older and begin to no longer be able to bear children, they experience changes in hormone levels. These changes occur during pre-menopause and menopause. Symptoms during this time of life can include fatigue, sleep disturbances, weight gain, and skin changes. Treating depression in mothers is important for both mothers and children. Treatment of hormone-related depression may include the same things that work for depression in general such as talk therapy, strong support networks, and antidepressant medications. Childhood is supposed to be a happy, carefree time, and for most of children, it is. Unfortunately for some children they can be neglected, and/or abused physically, mentally or sexually. These events during childhood, such as abuse or loss of a parent, may depression. Considerable evidence from clinical studies states that stressful or raumatic events early in development have long-lasting effects on the development of the brain. In particular, the neural and endocrine systems, mediating the response to stress, exhibit persistent alterations after adverse childhood events. Clinically, patients with a history of childhood trauma often struggle with symptoms such as, both depression and anxiety. A wide variety of later disorders and symptoms have been connected to early-life stress and abuse, including cardiovascular disease, fibromyalgia, fatigue, anxiety, and addiction. However, one of the most common onsequences of having suffered trauma as a child is a higher risk of developing depression as an adult. Depression may also be triggered by physical abnormalities within the brain. Brain- imaging technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), have shown that the brains of people who are depressed look different than those of people who are not. The parts of the brain involved in mood, thinking, sleep, appetite, and behavior appear to be different. But these images do not reveal why the depression has occurred. In general, several regions of the brain are less active in people who are epressed than in people who healthy brain activity. The reduced activity in these areas probably explains why depressed people experience feelings of exhaustion. It is more likely due to a variety of brain abnormalities. In depressed patients, some parts of the brain may display abnormally low activity (prefrontal cortex), but others may be hyperactive (limbic system). The important point is that depression sets in when the interactions among these various regions of the brain are interrupted or the equilibrium among them is upset (Dubuc, 2002). Studies on brain activity in epressed people do seem to reveal an overall pattern: a general decline in activity in the prefrontal cortex, combined with increased activity in the brains limbic structures, as stated before. In conclusion, unlike other illnesses or disorders, there is no simple explanation as to what causes depression. In general, depression is caused by environmental, biological and psychological factors such as hormones, early childhood trauma and biological differences. As previously explained, due to depressions highly subjective nature the cause of it cannot be accurately explained.