Depression
Back to DepressionWhat Causes Depression?
Depression usually isn't caused by one event or thing; it's typically the result of one or more factors, and its causes vary from person to person. Depression can be caused by lowered levels of neurotransmitters (chemicals that carry signals through the nervous system) in the brain, which limits a person's ability to feel good. Depression can run in families, so a person who has a close relative with depression may be more likely to experience it.Significant life events such as the death of a loved one, a divorce, a move to a new area, and even a breakup with a girlfriend or boyfriend can bring on symptoms of depression. Stress also can be a factor, and because the teen years can be a time of emotional and social turmoil, things that are difficult for anyone to handle can be devastating to a teen.
Also, chronic illness can contribute to depression, as can the side effects of certain medicines or infec
Is this Depression - or is it something else?
Our mood naturally varies over time and from day to day and everyone gets down sometimes. We may say that we are 'down', 'fed up', or 'feeling under the weather'; we may get disheartened about something that happens or when things don't go the way we would have liked. Although people often say 'I'm depressed' to mean these things, this would not usually be what is called clinical depression and is simply part of the normal ups and downs of life. Some people naturally experience frequent mood changes, while others have a relatively stable equilibrium.Similarly, if we suffer a major loss, we readily understand that it is normal to grieve. Although some of the emotions we feel when we are bereaved appear similar to depression, grieving is a natural and ultimately healing process. Sometimes, though, past losses which were not fully mourned at the time may later resurface and present as depression much later.
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What Can I Do About Depression?
There are actually a lot of things you can do about depression. The most important thing is that you do something positive and constructive.You might start by getting yourself some paper and a pen and make headings for all the factors previously described: Environmental, Interpersonal, Physical/Medical, etc.
Make a list of any problems, concerns, or negative feelings you have that relate to each of the areas. (It also helps to identify which of the areas are sources of strength, support, positive feelings.)
As you break the depression down into smaller, more manageable contributing parts, some solutions will seem clear to you. Again, we're not operating on an "Either-Or" assumption---that you either have depression or you don't; we're assuming a continuum of depressive feelings or symptoms.
So any changes you can make for the better, though they may not "fix" the depression or make it go away immediately, are definitely worth doing.
Depression can leave you feeling helpless and out of control of your life, your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. You want to regain and experience more power and control; you want to get to the point where you feel like you can do something to improve your situation and life.
So for instance, you may realize that relationship problems are a key contributor to your depression, and decide that assertiveness or communications training would really help remedy that situation.
Or you might notice that for you the symptoms are largely physical and choose to get a medical check-up to rule out other possible problems.
Go over each area and do your own self-assessment, then write down what you think it would take to help the situation. No two lists will be exactly alike, but several general strategies often are beneficial to people struggling with feelings of depression.
Y! Health Depression News
- Abortion not seen linked with depression (Reuters)
Reuters - No high-quality study done to date can document that having an abortion causes psychological distress, or a "post-abortion syndrome," and efforts to show it does occur appear to be politically motivated, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. - Depression Linked to Increase in Abdominal Fat (HealthDay)
HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, Dec. 3 (HealthDay News) -- There may be a link between depression and abdominal obesity in older people, according to researchers in Holland who studied almost 2,100 adults in their seventies. - Depression leads to internal fat in 70-somethings (AP)
AP - Older people who are depressed are much more likely to develop a dangerous type of internal body fat the kind that can lead to diabetes and heart disease than people who are not depressed, a disturbing new study found. - Treating depression seen important in heart failure (Reuters)
Reuters - Depression increases the risk of death in patients with heart failure, but the risk apparently disappears with antidepressant use, according to a study. - Depression's Behavior Changes Linked to Heart Risks (HealthDay)
HealthDay - TUESDAY, Nov. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Negative changes in health behaviors are a major reason why heart patients with depression have an increased risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack, say U.S. researchers who followed 1,017 outpatients with stable coronary heart disease for an average of 4.8 years. - Inactivity a risk to depressed heart patients: study (Reuters)
Reuters - The main reason depressed heart disease patients are at higher risk for further heart trouble is because they exercise less and adopt other unhealthy habits, researchers said on Tuesday. - Peginterferon-induced depression is reversible (Reuters)
Reuters - Depression related to peginterferon therapy for chronic hepatitis C increases with duration of use, but reverses following treatment cessation, according to members of the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-term Treatment against Cirrhosis trial. - Elder suicide risk persists in long-term care (Reuters)
Reuters - Suicide has not declined among elderly people living in long-term care facilities as it has among community-living elders, research hints. - Depression linked to poorer diabetes control (Reuters)
Reuters - Depression may make it harder for people with diabetes to keep their blood sugar levels in check, researchers have found. - Japanese mobiles to offer psychotherapy sessions (AFP)
AFP - A Japanese professor on Wednesday launched what he said was the world's first web-based psychotherapy sessions available via mobile phone, as the country grapples with a growing problem of depression.
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