Different Strokes for Different Folks
Two people could feel exactly the same signs and symptoms of depression, but may need very different kinds of treatments for how to fight depression. How can this be? It is because the chosen treatment takes into account a variety of factors including the cause of the depression. Justin lost his job two months ago has been sliding into a deep depression. Justin has no prior history of depression, nor does it show up in his family history. Richard, on the other hand, has struggled with how to fight depression for several years. His aunt, two of his uncles, and his father have all experienced signs and symptoms of depression at least once in a very serious way. It so happens that both Justin and Richard report the exact same signs and symptoms of depression on a questionnaire and have the same severity level during the same time period.
Can you guess who will require medication treatment in addition to therapy? Yes, it’s Richard. It’s not that Richard has a “chemical imbalance” and Justin does not. Clinical depression by definition is a chemical imbalance in the brain. So, both Justin and Richard have a similar chemical imbalance at the moment they seek help. Justin takes an online class dealing with depression such as the Feel Alive Workshop. He also has 5-8 sessions of cognitive-behavioral therapy. He found his method for how to fight depression. His depression lifts. There is no need for medication once Justin learned to think of himself according to different “rules” of thought. He feels free to think of himself as a success and not a failure just because he lost one good job.
Richard wonders how to fight depression again because he has felt this way before. He takes an online course to gain the knowledge and skills he needs to wage war on depression and he goes to therapy. The depression lifts slightly but leaves him stuck in a distressing state of mind. Why? Because his depression has biological causes that reach across his family tree like the tentacles of a giant squid.
Why can’t Richard find out how to fight depression using a method that doesn’t involve medication? The short answer to this is that Richard has a source of depression in side him all the time regardless of his experiences. At any time, this fountain of depression can switch on and alter his brain chemistry in a painful way for months at a time. Justin, also has a chemical imbalance, but once it is treated he doesn’t have an ongoing cause of depression woven into his DNA.
The long answer to the question of Richard looking for how to fight depression without medication involves reviewing the biological and genetic aspects of the signs and symptoms of depression.
It Matters What Has Caused a Person’s Depression
There is no one cause of depression. The reasons why some people become depressed are very complicated. In the past, depression was referred to as “anger turned inward”. Researchers now feel that the causes of depression are three-fold: genetic, biological, and emotional/environmental.
Biological Causes of Depression
There is no one-size fits all method for how to fight depression. The brain is extremely complex. Although it is estimated that the human brain has hundreds of neurotransmitters, only about 30 of them have been identified. Of the ones identified, scientists have been able to discover links between depression and three of them: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.
Dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine are all active in the parts of the brain that control the activities that go wrong when an individual is experiencing depression. Each of these neurotransmitters is active in a specific part of the brain. Dopamine is active in an area of the brain associated with the emotions. Serotonin has been found to originate in cells that may be related to sleep and agitation. Norepinephrine is found in the portions of the brain that have been linked to fear and memory.
It is thought that changing levels of these neurotransmitters lead to depression. Recent advancements in research, however, have led to the theory that the causes of depression are much more complicated than that. With such complexity, where can one find real answers for how to fight depression?
Genetic Causes of Depression
“Aunt Gladys put me in her will! She gave me her depression.”
If only it were as simple as removing people’s names from a will. That would be the fast-track for how to fight depression. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. The idea that depression runs in families is nothing new. Many people who deal with the challenges of depression or bipolar disorder can name other family members who have also struggled with these mental health issues.
You do not actually inherit depression itself; it is the tendency toward or vulnerability to the disorder that runs in families. If you have a parent, brother, or sister with major depression, you yourself are at an increased risk to develop the disease at some point during your lifetime.
Studies conducted on identical twins point to a genetic factor in depression. Identical twins are interesting to study because they carry the same genes. Researchers were curious to discover whether when one identical twin is depressed, the other one experiences feelings of depression, too.
The studies found that when one identical twin is depressed, the other one also suffers from depression more than 75% of the time. In fraternal twins (who don’t share the same DNA), this number drops to just fewer than 20%. Keep in mind, though, that the identical twins studied were brought up in the same home, with similar environmental influences. It is possible that a factor in the home environment triggers the onset of depression. In addition, since we know that twins have a tremendous influence on each other, one twin’s depressive symptoms could very well trigger similar feelings in the other.
When identical twins were adopted by different families and raised apart, both were depressed simultaneously just over 66% of the time. This would also point to a genetic factor as a cause of depression. This research result is important because it informs us how to fight depression: the biological hold that depression has on a person (like Richard) is genetic and requires healing medication to counteract the biological processes inside the body and brain.
No one, single cause has been discovered to cause depression in all families. Even if a person does carry whatever gene is ultimately found to be a factor in developing depression, this only indicates that the individual has an increased chance of developing depression. It certainly is not written in stone that the individual will actually become depressed. But that is not the point. The point here is that people lose precious years and even decades of their lives when depression holds on tight and the quest for how to fight depression should take into consideration the strong biological component. Medication should not be ruled out until a person has been evaluated thoroughly.
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