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What Is The Cause of Depression and How Serious Can It Be

There is no single cause of depression, so when doctors and researchers are studying and hoping to find the answer to what is the cause of depression, what they have found is that there a numerous causes.

Doctors and researchers have found that people become depressed for many different reasons, their nature and personality, their parents, up bringing, how they relate to the events in their life and experiences throughout life. And the causes of depression may be due to things that happened in a sufferer's child hood but took time to fully take hold in the persons mind.

To begin with, heredity plays a role as one of the causes of depression. If one of the two, or both, of depressives' parents suffer from depression there is believed that between 40 and 70 percent of those who then suffer from depression also.

Other Possible Causes of Depression include:

* A Chemical Imbalance

Chemical imbalances in the brain could be a cause. This is the reason that the antidepressants, including serotonin and norepinephrine, can work to help those who are depressed as it balances out the chemicals that would normally be there.

Both researchers and doctors do not clearlu understand why this occurs, however they do agree that in correcting the imbalance of chemicals the treatment goes a long way towards correcting the problems. Studies recently have shown a pattern in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that deals with memory and mood, and is linked to a possible source of depression when the chemical serotonin is low. When serotonin is increased with medications both mood and memory improve greatly.

* Alcohol and Drug Abuse

lcohol, drug abuse and even cigarettes, can be big factors to contributing to depression.

* Birth (postnatal and postpartum depression)

10% - 20% of mothers feel are distressed and have the "baby blues" in the early weeks and months of their newborn's life.


* Health, Illnesses, Medical Conditions and Disabilities

Illnesses and health conditions like cancer, heart disease, hepatitis, brain damage, Alzheimer's, the loss of an arm or leg, a serious injury or being disabled and confined to a wheel chair, to name just a few.

Often it is dealing with a serious medical condition that causes the depression or depression could also be a side effect of the medications needed to treat the disease.

* Hormonal imbalance

It is known that women suffer with depression more so than do men. Research has shown that the reason for this is hormone imbalance from puberty, their monthly cycle, pregnancy, and menopause.

* Medication

Some strong medications used for physical medical issue like high blood pressure can cause depression when taken over long periods.

Also a common medication that is taken by women all around the world, birth control pills.

* Personality

How somebody is brought up and how they have handle or deal with different situations and events in their lives.

If someone is a pessimistic person who cannot handle stress very well or is very self-critical and doesn't believe in himself or herself then they risk a higher possibility of becoming depressed.

* Stress

This is not just the stress of everyday life, this is more likely due to long term raised stress levels because a spouse, special someone or friend may be leaving, the bereavement of a loved one, the loss of a job, financial worries, or the impact of an extremely stressful event in ones lifetime like kidnap or rape.

In summary

The causes of depression are varied and are numerous. Depression can affect any one of any age. If you notice any of the above causes or conditions and notice a personality change, don't hesitate to see, and speak with, a doctor or pychologist.

Study Of Molecular Genetics Of Depression: VCU Awarded Wellcome Trust Foundation Grant Virginia Commonwealth University is part of an international research team that received a Wellcome Trust Foundation grant totaling more than $2.8 million to identify the genetic variants that have an impact on the risk for recurrent major depression. Click Here to Read More...

 

 

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