Everyone experiences feelings of sadness, helplessness, or inadequacy occasionally. These emotions are, for the most part, perfectly typical reactions to stressful or unpleasant life events, such as falling out of love or facing financial difficulties. Even though our negative emotions are unpleasant and debilitating, they eventually fade and become less strong.
You might have a mood disorder if you experience excessive sadness or negativity on most days, and if this feeling worsens or intensifies over time. A major shift in mood that impairs a person’s capacity to operate normally and results in intense or overwhelming emotions is known as a mood disorder. One of the most prevalent mood disorders in the United States is major depressive disorder, sometimes known as depression. It is characterized by intense, enduring emotions such as melancholy and hopelessness, and it can have a crippling impact on an individual’s mental and physical well-being.
How does your brain work most of the time?
Your brain is always processing information to enable you to react to the world around you. It uses chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters to accomplish this. Neurotransmitters are potent messengers that facilitate communication between various brain regions and regulate a wide range of physiological processes, including mood and focus as well as behavioral ones like eating and sleep patterns. Neurotransmitters interact with various brain targets throughout life to provide proper and healthy response to events.
What can go wrong?
Neurotransmitters can malfunction occasionally, leading to issues with the brain’s communication system as a whole. A single circumstance known as a chemical imbalance has the potential to alter several facets of your physical and emotional well-being. Many experts think that abnormalities in the neurotransmitter monoamines, which are responsible for the extreme behavioral and emotional changes associated with depression, are the root of the illness. Large amounts of monoamines are present in the limbic system of your body, which regulates your emotions, food, sleep patterns, and memory. Depression symptoms arise from decreased amounts of monoamines.
| Neurotransmitter | Symptoms or behaviors |
Low norepinephrine causes energy or motivation to decline, as well as poor memory and attention
Reduced serotonin causes mood swings, food cravings, and difficulty sleeping.
Reduced dopamine causes obsessive behavior and cravings while decreasing satisfaction
Symptoms:
During a period of time known as a depressive episode, a person with major depressive disorder experiences changes in feelings and behavior.
Depressive episodes: these are periods of time when the person experiences daily deep sadness that lasts for at least two weeks. Since everyone experiences sadness differently, it’s vital to consider whether or not someone’s conduct deviates significantly from how they typically behave in comparable situations before classifying or diagnosing someone as depressed. More detailed symptoms, which must manifest daily for a minimum of 14 days, may consist of:
feeling down or melancholy most of the time, or thinking that life is no longer enjoyable
Losing interest in activities that were once very important to them; Appetite and Weight Changes: Eating significantly more and gaining weight, or not eating at all; Sleep Quality and Quantity: Sleeping less, or sleeping more but feeling fatigued; Speech Changes: Talking less; Psychomotor Agitation: Tapping the foot, pacing, or wringing hands;
sentiments of guilt or unworthiness
low regard for oneself
yearning for death or considering death
Suicide: The most dangerous sign of sadness is suicidal thoughts. People who frequently encounter severe symptoms such as those mentioned above may occasionally start to believe that their only option is to pass away. They are far more inclined to act on their thoughts about death since they may also believe that there is no hope for the future and that nothing will improve. Their risk of suicide also rises with the severity of their depression.
Suicidal ideation that is persistent, strong, or frequent; thoughts of ending one’s life; a sense of helplessness or being a burden to others; increased drug or alcohol consumption are some specific warning indicators for suicide.
donating belongings or bidding a farewell that appears definitive
Please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 for assistance if you believe that you or someone you know may be in danger.
What causes depression?
Depression, like the majority of mood disorders, lacks a clear cause. Rather, it is the outcome of various circumstances interacting to produce brain chemistry abnormalities.
biological factors: you are far more likely to develop a mood disorder like depression yourself if a family member already has one. Depression is also more likely to strike if you have alcoholism or schizophrenia, for example.
Psychological factors: Depressive episodes are frequently brought on by stressful or unfavorable life circumstances, such as a divorce, a death in the family, or losing a job. Depression is far more common in those who regularly and chronically endure trauma or stress.
Behavioral factors: increasing drug or alcohol usage can both cause or contribute to the development of depression and exacerbate its symptoms.
Social factors: depressive symptoms are linked to a lack of social support, such as deep ties with family or peers.
Factors associated with depression
How common is depression?
6.9% of adults in the US and 5% of individuals worldwide experience depression at some point in their lives. Depression is more common in women, those with medical conditions such as cancer or heart disease, and those who reside in areas with limited access to jobs and healthcare. Suicide is the 10th highest cause of death in the US in 2013 and has become a serious public health concern due to the high prevalence of depression. Suicide rates are particularly high among vulnerable groups, including young people between the ages of 15 and 24; veterans of the armed forces; and those who identify as homosexual, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning.
Is it possible to prevent depression?
According to the majority of scientists and mental health professionals, depression is unpredictable and can strike anyone at any time. They emphasize the significance of managing depressive episodes once they begin rather than emphasizing prevention. A few tactics that could enhance coping mechanisms and lessen the intensity or duration of symptoms include forming wholesome routines such as consuming meals high in nutrients, exercising, getting enough sleep, abstaining from drugs and alcohol, and interacting with loved ones.
How is depression treated?
Integrative medicine is typically used to treat depression. This means that behavioral, psychological, and psychiatric interventions are used in concert to address the patient’s unique requirements and symptoms. Together, the therapies help the patient regain a regular mood and enhance their capacity for coping with their environment.
Psychiatric treatments:
Antidepressants are prescription drugs used to treat serious depressive illness. Antidepressants function by enhancing the brain’s neurotransmitter system’s actions. Some concentrate on preventing particular neurotransmitters from being reabsorbable. These consist of norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs), serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). Some antidepressants, such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), work by controlling the enzyme known as monoamine oxidase, which is typically involved in reabsorbing neurotransmitters back into the brain. This allows them to increase levels of neurotransmitters.
Electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, is another medical treatment for depression that includes implanting electrodes on a patient’s skull and sending electrical currents through their brain. When a person isn’t getting better after taking antidepressants, this is frequently utilized as a technique to increase neurotransmitter functioning.
How electroconvulsive treatment affects neurotransmitter release
Consider the following:
Psychotherapy can help people function better during and after depressed episodes, but it does not address the underlying causes of depression. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the best psychotherapies for major depressive disorder. The main goal of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is to recognize and replace harmful ideas, feelings, and behaviors with constructive ones. This aids patients in overcoming both recent and recurrent stressful circumstances.
