Although unsure of the exact mechanisms behind depression, scientitsts are getting closer to solving the riddle. This article will discuss what's currently known.
Although the exact mechanism of how depressive illness manifests isn’t fully understood, scientists realize that multilevel influences working in tandem or individually can trigger a depression event. The most important influences seem to be genetic, biological and environmental by nature. The disease can affect all genders and all ages. Continuing research on this illness will eventually piece together the puzzling aspects of depressive illness, leading to a potential cure and better management.
Symptoms
Once deemed a problem that was made up by the individual, depression today is classified as a serious mental illness. The National Mental Health Institute states that the symptom of depression usually lasts for a period of time and not just a day or two. These symptoms may include feelings of anxiousness, hopelessness, helplessness, pessimism, worthlessness and a loss of interest in those things that one enjoyed prior to the onset of depressive illness. Although some types of depression go away on their own, many others do not. Medical consultation and evaluation is vital for the management of clincal symptoms.
Causes
As mentioned above, there are many potential triggers for depression. Some of these causes are biological. The National Institute of Health states that MRI scans of people suffering from depression show that areas of the brain that control moods, thinking, appetite and sleep are not working properly. Neurotransmitters, important chemicals that regulate brain activity, tend to be imbalanced in these individuals. If depression presents itself later in life and wasn’t present when the individual was younger; the causes may be due to a restriction of blood or ischemia within the brain itself.
Genetically, scientists have been able to link family history with depression. Scientists are gaining knowledge daily on mapping the genetic markers for the disease. Some studies over the years have shown that the biological children of those parents suffering from the disease have a much greater chance of acquiring depression than those children who were adopted by the same parents. Wisconsin scientists and colleagues in Great Britain and New Zealand suspect that the gene 5-HTT, which controls the neurotransmitter serotonin,to be a major player in this disease. They noticed that those diagnosed with depression, had one long and one short copy of this gene, instead of the normal two long copies.
Environmentally, depression can be triggered when the individual goes through a stressful period, such as a divorce, undergoing a serious illness or the loss of an individual close to them. How these translate into triggering this disease is still unclear.
Management
Although there are many different types of depression and no known cure for depression exists, depressive mental illness is highly manageable regardless of the variety suffered. The most common ways to manage the disease today are through medications, psychotherapy and, electroconvulsive therapy. Medications used, generally target the neurotransmitters that affect mood. These include seratonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.
Two classes of drugs, SSRI’s (seratonin reuptake inhibitors) and MAO inhibitors (monoamine oxidase inhibitors) are available to battle depression. SSRI’s are preferred over MAO inhibitors, because they tend to have fewer side effects. Common SSRI’s are Prozac and Celexa. Psychotherapy is also helpful. Talk therapy, specifically cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy are very helpful. Cognitive therapy helps the individual change the negative habits that can trigger depression, while interpersonal therapy helps people understand and get through troubled relationships that may trigger the depressive event. Stress relief and more physical activity may also be encouraged. If psychotherapy and medications don’t help, electroconvulsive therapy or ECT for short may be indicated. The treatment usually is done under anesthesia and the symptoms of depression seem to improve after a few sessions.
Depression affects all genders and ages. The causes are many. Primary focus and research is being directed towards mapping and understanding the genetic aspects of this disease. Once depression sets in it can last for months and may not go away totally on its own. Until the mechanisms of depression are fully understood, early treatment via medication, psychotherapy or ECT, is vital to control and manage this problem.
