The Development of Depression

2048 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The importance of social class

The European Commission Green Paper on mental health (European Commission, 2005) suggested that factors such as biological, individual, family, social, economic and environmental all contribute to determine the mental condition of a person. Similarly, Kinderman, Schwannauer, Pontin & Tai (2013) stated that it is never just one factor that has happened that leads to a mental illness being discovered in an individual. Therefore, this essay will look at factors including genetics, experiences, social support, social status and living conditions and how they could affect someone becoming depressed. Depression causes depressed moods and loss of pleasure in most activities. A person’s thoughts, emotions, body and behaviour are all affected. It is like chronic sadness, a person never truly feels happy about themselves and these symptoms are present most of the time. There are many types, including minor, dysthymic, sub-syndromal and major. Depression is the fourth leading cause of disability and disease and affects 121 million people worldwide (Bromet et al, 2011). One factor that has dominated over recent years is the biological approach, suggesting that it is a person’s genes that lead to depressed symptoms. One theory that has contributed to this is the monoamine hypothesis. This suggests there are three main monoamine neurotransmitters including dopamine, serotonin and norephrenine which cause depression. Specifically, low levels of serotonin. Serotonin helps regulate mood and balances areas of the brain associated with thinking and emotions. Serotonin pathways connect to different brain regions and are located in the brainstem area “the Raphe nuclei”. They affect areas in the brain including the neocortex and the limbic system (e... ... middle of paper ... ...rsonal experiences, social support, social status and living conditions all have an influence on the onset of depression. This ultimately supports the European Commission Green Paper on mental health (European Commission, 2005: p.4) who stated that “the mental condition of people is determined by a multiplicity of factors...” Furthermore, it has been shown that for each factor there are a number of explanatory models that describe how an individual could potentially become depressed, all of which have their own strengths and weaknesses. Although these factors contribute to the development of depression, research suggested that there is no single explanation for depression. Additionally, research implied that future research should bring all these models together to provide one explanation of depression as they have all been shown to interact with one another anyway.

Show More
Related

  • The Stranger

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    Major Depressive Disorder, which is also referred to as Clinical Depression, is a disorder caused when low serotonin levels, that suppress pain perception and are often found in the pineal gland at the center of the brain, promote low levels of norepinephrine, a monoamine neurotransmitter that controls cognitive ability. This disabling disorder interferes with a person’s daily life as it prevents one from performing normal functions, such as eating, sleeping, interacting, or enjoying once pleasurable activities. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the common symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder are continued feelings of anxiety, worthlessne...

    Read More

  • Depression and Antidepressants

    2869 Words  | 6 Pages

    Through my extensive research on depression I have learned a lot of new things. I have learned about the many forms of depression and treatment for depression. I have also learned a little about what is believed to go on chemically in the brain of a clinically depressed person. I was also able to partially determine what sort of role genetics, chemicals and personal influences in the brain. Though I was unable to determine exactly how environmental and personal stress can cause a chemical imbalance in a person, I was even able to speculate about this issue and determine some theories of my own on why and how this may happen.

    Read More

  • Monoamine Theory Essay

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since the discovery of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and tricyclic antidepressants in the 1950s and its affect on depressives, Schildkraut first proposed the Monoamine Theory. The theory states that depression is caused by an imbalance of monoamine transmitters (neurotransmitters) in certain areas of the brain, such as noradrenaline, serotonin and dopamine (Schildkraut, 1965). This led to the introduction of antidepressant medication in the treatment of depression, known as pharmacotherapy. However, ongoing research suggests that the theory is “inadequate, as it does not provide a complete explanation for the actions of antidepressants, and the pathophysiology of depression itself remains unknown.”(Hirschfeld, 2000) A few of the main reasons for this inadequacy are because it is difficult to measure the level of neurotransmitters in an individual’s brain (P. L. Delgado, 2000) and that evidence is indirect on whether monoamine function is impaired in individuals with depression as the causes of depression appear to be more complex than simply a reduction in levels of monoamine or diminished function in these systems. (P. Delgado & Moreno, 1999)

    Read More

  • St. John Wort

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    Depression is a mental illness, which affects millions of Americans each year. Currently there are many prescription drugs, called anti-depressants that have been proven to successfully treat it. The causes of depression are somewhat of a medical enigma, however, it is known that depression is associated with a change in the brains chemistry involving the function of neurotransmitters (Reichert). This chemical change occurs in healthy brain’s, which experience sadness, but ends after the unpleasant stimulus is removed. In people suffering from depression this chemical change does not correspond to any particular stimulus. Symptoms of depression are often incapacitating and include severe and extended sadness, feelings of worthlessness, feelings of emptiness, irritability and anxiety (Reichert, Spake).

    Read More

  • Disorders and Treatments for Depression

    1435 Words  | 3 Pages

    Depression is considered a mental disorder that can lead an individual to commit suicide, experiment fatal risk that can injure his or her life. Furthermore, an individual feeling depressed lacks motivation to do anything progressive with his or her life. With that said, these individuals sometime gives up interest in activities that were once enjoyable, gets in a phase were he or she loses appetite, begins to overeat, loses concentration on what he or she is trying to complete, and becomes indecisiveness. Moreover, depression is a condition that makes an individual feel miserable, have no motivation to any activity that can influence his or her views, actions, welfare. Furthermore, depressed individuals at times may feel sad, apprehensive, desperate, destitute, useless, awkward, short-tempered, and agitated. In addition, the melancholy of depression is categorized by a greater concentration and length that is attached to severe symptoms. According to Wedding & Corsini (2014) states, “Physical disease, severe and acute stress, and chronic stress area also precipitating factors” (Pp. 240) of an individu...

    Read More

  • Depression Nurture

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    The general public believe that depression is caused by both nature and nurture factors. A majority of the public believed that nurture has a greater influence on whether the person gets depression or not.

    Read More

  • Serotonin & Depression

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although historically depression has been considered a character condition, evidence has accumulated suggesting the role of a biological substrate, namely serotonin, in subgroups of depressed patients. This accumulated evidence supports the indoleamine hypothesis of depression, which suggests that major depression results from a deficiency of available serotonin or inefficient serotonin. (16). We see that depletions of serotonin from certain regions of the brain such as the hypothalamus, amygdala, and cortical areas involved in cognition and other high processes, can have a great impact in contributing to depression.

    Read More

  • Opposing Viewpoints on Depression

    2443 Words  | 5 Pages

    As Descartes argued, the mind and the body are the base of our existence, and many different cultures view different illnesses positively or negatively. Certain cultures, like the Hmong, believe that epilepsy is a good spiritual thing, but others, such as Western culture, believe that it is medically bad because it could cause death. Many illnesses can be viewed both negatively and positively, some more than others. However, one such illness that is mostly viewed negatively is depression. It is viewed negatively in a symptomatic sense – the symptoms are useless – and in a diagnostic sense – those diagnosed with depression are not actually depressed and the illness itself does not exist; it is simply an excuse to be lazy. There are many different approaches to depression and most of them consider that this illness is negative; however, depression is actually an evolutionary tactic subconsciously employed by humans that can have very positive effects.

    Read More

  • Depression: Symptoms, Types, and Treatments

    1957 Words  | 4 Pages

    Depression is an equal opportunity disorder, it can affect any group of people with any background, race, gender, or age. Depression is a sneak thief that slips quietly and gradually into people’s lives - robbing them of their time, and their focus. At first, depression may be undetectable, but in the long run a person could become so weighed down that their life may feel empty and meaningless. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone who commits suicide is depressed, but majority of people who commits suicide do so during a severe depressive episode. There are over 300 million people in the world today who suffer from depression. Depression has affected people for a long as records have been kept. It was first called out by the famous Greek philosopher Hippocrates over 2,400 years ago. Hippocrates called it “melancholia”. Many times we think of depression as one disorder alone, when in fact there are many different types of depression. The different types of depression are major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, atypical disorder, adjustment disorder, and depressive personality disorder. All types of depression share at least one common symptom. It is commons from the person who suffers from any form of depression to feel an unshakable sadness, anxious, or empty mood. Major depressive disorder also known as unipolar depression or recurrent depressive disorder is the most severe depressive disorder out of all of the depressive in my estimation. Major depressive disorder is a condition in which affects a person’s family, work or school life, sleeping, eating and general health. It is important to emphasize that we can understand the mechanics of this disorder and how it affects people with major depressive disorder.

    Read More

  • Mental Illness: Depression

    1817 Words  | 4 Pages

    Depression is a serious mental health illness which affects an individuals’ mind, body and mood. It is a chronic and lifelong health condition (NICE, 2006) thought to be caused by a number of biological factors including neurotransmitter disturbances in the brain and an element of genetic vulnerability; these are often in addition to psychosocial factors such as the occurrence of undesirable life events, limited social network options, poor self esteem and the occurrence of any adverse life events during a persons’ lifetime (Bernstein, 2006). Depression can have an impact on a persons’ ability to do many things including working, engaging with others, participating fully in family life or maintaining relationships, and it can also impact on a person...

    Read More

  • Late Adulthood and Depression

    1568 Words  | 4 Pages

    Depression is defined as "a state of despondency marked by feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness" (Coon, 2001). Some people can mix up depression with just having the blues because of a couple of bad days or even weeks. It is already said that depression affects about one sixth of the population or more (Doris, Ebmeier, Shajahan, 1999). Depression can happen in any age range from birth to death. The cause of depression is still obscure and becoming clear that a number of diverse factors are likely to be implicated, both genetic and environmental. Some causes are leading stressful lives, genetic factors, a previous depressive episode, and the personality trait neuroticism (Doris, et al., 1999).

    Read More

  • Women and Depression

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    Depression is well known for its mental or emotional symptoms. Symptoms for depression include: persistently sad or unhappy mood, loss of interest or pleasure in previously enjoyable activities, difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions, anxiety, feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness, and thoughts of death or dying. “People who have endured a major depressive episode describe the experience as a descent into t...

    Read More

  • Childhood Depression

    634 Words  | 2 Pages

    for that reason. Children tend to express their sadness by behavioral changes, poor Recognizing the symptoms and early signs of childhood depression, seeking diagnosis and treatment and learning to live with and accept the disorder and still live for yourself are all important steps for knowledgeable parents.

    Read More

  • The Main Cause of Mental Illness

    1030 Words  | 3 Pages

    All in all, the cause of mental illness can be summarised as a complex combination of psychological, social and biological response to environmental stressors, responding behaviour, physiology and connected to social context (Savy and Sawyer, 2009). Mental illness has been developed primarily due to the cause of circumstances around the individual and way of individual’s action to tolerate the situation. Hence, the combination of causes outside and inside the individual results in mental illness. Individual preference such as drug and alcohol use also develops and worsens the mental health problems, in some cases.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Depression

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    Depression is one of the most common psychological problems. Each year over 17 million Americans experience a period of clinical depression. Thus, depression affects nearly everyone through personal experiences or through depression in a family member or friend.

    Read More

More about The Development of Depression

Open Document