The Depression Epidemic: Part I Description and Causes

Every freshmen at my high school takes a mandatory PE/Health course to learn about aspects of health. Out of all the activities we do in that class, the activity that has had the greatest effect on me is the circle help session. During the help session, the teacher reads out problems that anonymous students in our class are facing, and we provide suggestions for how to deal with it.

I learned a lot about my classmates that day, but what stood out the most was the large number of people with depression. My teacher was reading papers after papers about students suffering from depression. What surprised me even more, was that nobody in my class knew what this mental illness is and how to deal with it. I decided to do some research on my own to understand what depression is and how to prevent and treat it. In my free time, I have done research about the disorder, and I want to write about what I have learned.

What is it?

Depression, short for Major Depressive Disorder, is a mood disorder that causes persistent hopeless or empty feelings. Patients with depression see at least five of these symptoms:

1. Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day.

2. Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities.

3. Significant weight loss or weight gain; decreased or increased appetite.

4. A slowing down of thought and a reduction of physical movement observable by others.

5. Fatigue or loss of energy.

6. Feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt.

7. Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness.

8. Recurrent thoughts of death and/or suicide.

What causes depression?

In the past, scientists have believed that depression is caused by a lack of the chemicals serotonin and dopamine. They often prescribe selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to raise serotonin levels and lessen depressive symptoms. However, many studies have shown to be inconsistent with this theory. Scientists have found that depressed brains have significantly less gray matter than healthy brains. The hippocampus, for example, gets smaller when a person is depressed. This is part of the brain is critical in memory and emotions. When the cells in this area are regenerated, the depression symptoms go away.

If the real problem is cell loss, then why do the SSRIs succeed in suppressing depressive symptoms? SSRIs help increase the levels of serotonin the brain. Serotonin plays and indirect role in increasing cell generation in the brain. Therefore, the SSRIs are actually helping the cells grow - just not in the most efficient way. Scientists are now looking for more effective, direct ways to stimulate the growth of neurons.