Depression is often misunderstood as just feeling sad, but it is actually a complex medical condition that is caused by a range of different factors. It’s not known exactly what causes depression, but researchers are making good progress in learning more about how to manage and treat this common mental health condition. Here are some facts about depression that might surprise you.
Image – free for commercial use
Depression Has Different Triggers
People have a higher risk of depression if they have been through a stressful life event, if they’ve had depression in the past, or if they have a close family member who has been depressed. It can also be related to age, health, and even falling testosterone levels (which can be helped with trt therapy. Sometimes it develops with no obvious cause.
Genese Provide Some Answers
Genetic predisposition to depression is becoming better understood and could explain why one person becomes depressed and another doesn’t. A family history of depression can be a factor, but it is not always the only one. For example, the heritability rate of depression (which is the percentage of a trait that might be down to genes) is only about 37 percent.
Depression Affects The Body
Headaches, stomach issues, and general aches and pains without an obvious physical cause can all be symptoms of depression.
Depression Can Be A Gut Feeling
Some studies are beginning to suggest that there could be a connection between mental health and gut health. Depression has been associated with gut imbalance. A healthy diet that includes probiotics and prebiotics could play an important part in managing depression, although research on this is still in early phases.
Depressed Brains May Look Different
Some people who struggle with major depressive disorders have changes in their brain that can actually be seen in imaging tests such as MRI scans. This was reported in 2019 in Translational Psychiatry, which evaluated studies that examined the use of MRI scans in the diagnosis and treatment of the depressive disorder. However, major depression is a biologically complex disorder that can cause different changes in the brain in some people, and MRI scans alone are not useful in the diagnosis of major depressive disorder. New imaging techniques and the way this information is analyzed will be important in diagnosing depression in the future.
Depression Is Linked To Other Health Problems
People who have depression are also at a higher risk of other conditions, including chronic inflammatory or autoimmune conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, or irritable bowel disease. It isn’t yet known whether depression causes these conditions or whether having these conditions makes you depressed, but the two definitely appear to be linked.
Depressed People Might Not Look Depressed
Depressed is a hidden illness. It’s important to remember that you will not always be able to tell you whether someone is struggling or not. Some people may seem very cheerful or upbeat, but inside they could be having a very tough time with the symptoms of depression.
It Can Be A Catalyst For Certain Addictions
When someone is feeling extremely depressed, it can cause them to look for any kind of relief. Many people turn to alcohol, drugs, and many other short-term methods of coping. It’s understandable a lot of the time as many people begin to feel weak and hopeless. They end up struggling more and more before looking at Recovery From Addiction methods. If you know somebody who looks to be in a sad state mentally, look to help them before they seek out more disastrous means.
About The Author
