Biological Causes Of Depression Essay

In the past decade depression has become a huge aspect in most people’s lives. We have all been affected by it or know someone who has been. Although depression hasn’t always received the attention it has got in the past couple of years, that’s not to say that the number of people who suffer from depression has increased. Due to large number of studies and research carried out, depression has become a more understandable disorder with real medical symptoms and treatments, which makes it easier for people to seek help and understand the disorder. This would not have been possible without the work and success of psychologists and there many studies on what causes and influences depression (psychological, social and biological causes). Depression is a mood based disorder and is the most common of all psychological disorders. According to epidemiological studies in europe, 8.5% of people suffer from some level of depression (Ayuso- Mateos et al., 2001). There are three types of symptoms for depression; Cognitive, Motivational and Somatic. These symptoms include, lack of interest, negetive thinking about ones self, the world and their future, loss of

By understanding the main effects of depression, such as self-victimization, anxiety and hopelessness, it has helped psychologist Identify what needs to be done in order to prevent and or over come depression. Lewinsohn (1985) believes that depression is triggered by a loss or a traumatic event, and has been describes as a vicious circle that is not easy to break. But behavioural theorists ( Martell et al., 2004) believes that in order to break the cycle of depression, one should force themselves to do things that will produce some measure of happiness or pleasure. By doing so this will slowly disable the sense of hopelessness and dispair and increase the feeling of personal control over themselves and their