MENTAL WELLNESS

CAUSES OF DEPRESSION

CAUSES OF DEPRESSION

 

The most common view of depression is that a person's brain chemistry is out of whack, specifically that they lack serotonin however, whatever level you have of serotonin is your natural state and there is no "deficiency" to correct.  While it's true that neurotransmitters interact with neurocircuits, a diagnosis of depression is not the same as saying "This person has low serotonin levels."

Much research now acknowledges that low serotonin levels do not cause depression, despite all anecdotal accounts to the contrary. This is largely due to marketing strategies by pharmaceutical companies and the like. However, in the words of neuroscience, "no perfect brain exists…no study or researcher has been able to show such a brain. It's likely because it doesn't exist."

if low serotonin was the cause of depression, then all depressives would have low levels of serotonin. Research shows that depressives have mixed results, regular, some had low, and some had high. While serotonin may be involved, the exact process that leads to this "genetic condition" is not yet understood by science or medicine

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So what does cause depression then?

 

Biological

  • Genes: The chromosome 3p25-26 was discovered in some 800 families that had depression

  • Genes: The 5-HTT gene, which is associated with depression and autism. When a person has the "shorter variant" gene, they are more likely to become depressed after a situational depression.

  • Puberty (Male and Female)

  • Premenstrual Syndrome and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder

  • Pregnancy

  • Post-Partum Depression

  • Perimenopause and Menopause

  • Andropause in men, later in life when testosterone levels change

  • Deficiency in testosterone or oestrogen, testosterone or progesterone

  • Hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, which sees overactive or underactive thyroid problems manifest in depression, anxiety, insomnia, moodiness and panic attacks

  • Adrenal issues are also listed in another group of causes for depression since it involves stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Too many stress hormones in the body can cause depression and other related symptoms like insomnia, irritability, anxiety and fatigue

·       Being on psychotropic drugs, e.g., Adderall or Accutane

·       Poor diet and gut health

·       Lack of exercise

Environmental

·   PTSD and past trauma, such as sexual abuse, emotional or physical abuse in childhood, and any event that caused great stress.

·   Poverty

·   Addiction or alcoholism

·   Boredom

·   Lack of opportunity or education

·   Poor housing or location

·   Fear of crime

·   Bullying or spousal abuse

·   Work pressures

·   Being cheated upon

·   Loss of a job

·   A serious accident

·   Other major life changes, such as retirement

·   Losing a parent (specifically if aged 11 and under)

·   Losing another member of the family: spouse/partner, child, sibling, friend e.g., grief

·   Social isolation, lack of social support and loneliness

·   Nihilistic delusion (ND) is one of an assortment of narrowly defined monothematic delusions characterized by nihilistic beliefs about self's existence or life itself that may cause depression as person’s feel life and existence are pointless.

·   Disability or chronic illness

·   Terminal illness

·   Looking after a chronically or terminally ill relative

·   Getting divorced

·   Prejudice and discrimination

·   Being on social media, gaming or using smart phones excessively  

·   Social comparison (jealousy)

·   Thinking you are socially undesirable, e.g., overweight or unattractive etc

·   children who learned depressive behaviour from their parents and fell into a pattern of mimicking the depressive symptoms.Depression and anxiety are not always a result of one’s disposition or personal history - although clearly, this can be the case too!

DIET

Current research is now showing that mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety can frequently be the result, of poor physical care and diet. Our digestive system is often referred to as the second brain because it is so complex. ! In short, the news is that “what we eat either nourishes or damages us.” - no shit Sherlock, ……you know this right! ! But I’m guessing that some people may not realise how comprehensive and far-reaching the effects of a poor diet are, even following into the next generation….

First off, I would like to acknowledge that I know that obesity can be caused by a range of factors that have nothing to do with the frequency or type of food that is eaten, for example,

Medications, psychological factors, diseases such as hypothyroidism, insulin resistance, polycystic ovary syndrome, and Cushing's syndrome also contribute to obesity.

But for the majority of people that are overweight, the issue is diet-related. Genes don’t mutate fast enough to explain the obesity epidemic that has emerged over the past forty -years. But the adoption of the western diet” and its eating patterns do. Genes load the gun and the environment pulls the trigger. When a modern human is placed in a land of plenty (the west:), it can’t resist its genetic destiny and it gets fat.

The fact is, being morbidly obese increases the risk for a whole host of really horrid stuff: diabetes, cancer, arthritis, depression, hypertension, heart problems, mobility issues, etc

Research is currently investigating the link between diet and disease. In particular, how pathogens can cross the blood-brain barrier. It is being hypothesised that if somebody has poor gut health they cannot defend against pathogens met in the digestive system. These pathogens thrive in yeast and sugars and can cross the blood-brain barrier and may lead to disorders such as Parkinson's, dementia, autism, anxiety, and depression, for example.

We are not supposed to eat the way we do! Our ancestors (and therefore us ) were designed to eat sporadically as food was scarce. Humans have been naturally selected to be greedy, impulsive eaters with a special love of carbs/sugars and fats. The reason why we are wired up to go crazy when we encounter fat and sugars is that these foods are calorie-dense and rare. Have you ever noticed how herbivores have to eat all day long to obtain enough nutrients for survival? Humans don’t, by going for calorie-dense foods, humans gain a lot of time. More significantly, to the topic at hand, the random gorging of our ancestors couldn’t cause obesity as fats and sugars were extremely infrequent finds.

We are not supposed to overwhelm our bodies with such crap: overeating processed food laden with preservatives, additives and the like. “The staple diet for millions, especially the poor, has become a substantial carbohydrate submerged in saturated fat with some processed carcinogenic meat or meat substitute (think Deliveroo, Pizza, any food you love ) and no vegetables.

LIFESTYLE

I have been obsessed with watching Ben Fogle’s lives in the wild recently, if you don’t know it, it’s about people who move to remote locations and become self-sufficient to escape the rat race.

Let’s face it the 21st century has been absolutely traumatizing so far! If you are not scared about environmental disaster, the poisoning of our oceans, the repercussions of our kid’s phone addictions, our tendency to self-medicate with both illegal and legal psychotropics, antibiotic resistance, super-advanced A.I., the continual rise and control of super huge organisations like Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Big Pharma then maybe it’s because you are petrified about “cancel-culture,” losing the freedom of speech, cognitive enhancers replacing study, porn instead of love, pandemics, the erosion of women and why the Kardashians are even a thing.

We live in an individualistic culture where the highest achievement is personal success. However, the road to joy in western cultures can be exhausting. Commonly, it means that a person has to achieve and make something of themselves in their career and then keep accomplishing, growing or delivering to preserve mental health and status. Contentment in western cultures, in other words, is set aside for individuals who manage to flourish—or at least manage to recognise themselves as that. The most successful are rewarded and revered for being the industrial psychopaths they are!

This way of perceiving happiness is specifically beneficial for free-market, cultures because it means employees will have a profound, inner drive to find pleasure in what they do and continue to produce for and buy from the market. But it is demoralising for people who accept that view of happiness and for whatever reason—lack the opportunity, to succeed because they have ill-fated socio-economic positions —never actually find achievement or feel fulfilled and more often than not end up feeling depressed or anxious. In non-western societies, this sort of burden is normally absent, as contentment is less centred on fulfilling private desires

For some reason in individualistic cultures, it has become ok to say, that our own experience and journey are what matters most. and screw anybody that doesn’t dig our narrative! But can we have it all at the same time; the money, the career, the perfect kids, the great relationships, the beautiful home? Is it actually achievable or is it driving us to despair?

I remember observing a student-talk that was sold as an inspirational lecture and given by a woman who let’s say, was at the very top of her game professionally, she told the students that she had completely sacrificed the mothering of her children for her career; apparently, her kids understood! She did have an awesome job. by the way.

But surely, we have to acknowledge that we are never going to be happy if we are always the top priority? In any case, the first sixth months of a baby’s life in particular are the most important for healthy cognitive and emotional development. What’s the point of having kids if you are loathed to sacrifice a couple of years? Like all mammals, humans thrive when they are in continual close contact, with a sensitive primary caregiver e.g., cuddling and suckling. Studies on premature babies, breastfed babies and Romanian orphans are evidence of how forming close physical contact with a primary caregiver can set the stage for a good start in mental wellness.

I know it’s beginning to sound like I’m one of those right-wing “trad wives” but I’m really not. I’ve never been married and I am the sole parent to two differently sired kids. I honestly don’t care if you prefer a career. over kids! Nor do I care what gender the parents are. All that matters surely is a caregiver that is willing to stick around and put themselves on a decreased level of importance for an ever-decreasing bit of time. Careers can still happen. I definitely consider myself a feminist. I don’t think women should forget about educating themselves or not working – pushing a baby out and devoting yourself to it, is not all that matters! But I have not enjoyed being a working mother at all.; both my career and children have suffered as a result of trying to have it all; as, unlike the above inspirational speaker, I tried to give full attention to both. so, something had to give. But I still think (especially since the pandemic,) that the route to happiness is social support, family and friends, success means bugger all if you have to enjoy it alone.

To contradict matters, I hated the loneliness on maternity leave. too. Parenting and working are hard enough but without the support of families and friends, looking after children can become an isolating experience. We don’t live in extended families anymore and often our relatives live far away. I think the impact of living in disconnected nuclear families and/or lack of social support on mental well-being is gargantuan. I recently listened to a podcast where the speaker inferred that therapy was successful because there is such a deficit of social support and time in many people’s lives, that the therapist has effectively become the “best -friend” who always listens no matter how bad you have been, no matter how much you complain or talk about yourself!

Of course, much has been written about loneliness and isolation causing depression, in reality, there are multiple social factors that can influence, intensify, or in some cases, cause depression in the first place. Soap operas, social media and reality TV have replaced the community. and a sense of belonging. or even the need to actually socialise and seek out real relationships. But social lifestyle factors like too many choices, poor housing/location, lack of family support/relationships can also cause depression. An interesting study showed that participants routinely reported depression after social media overload. Social media causes depression, in theory, because it removes real-life human interaction and replaces it with one-sided and usually desirable perspectives of the world around us.

Even more, telling was a recent study which showed how social-comparison (the illusion that everyone's life is great -thanks to holiday and BBQ photos) is depressing people; greatly because in comparison we believe our lives to be painful and dull.

But then everybody is carrying on regardless of this background noise, so you do too? Are they mad or are you?

RD Laing said that Insanity was a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world. he also said that “Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is on