Depression is viewed today as a chronic mental disorder that affects nearly 10% of people worldwide. Exact causes of depression are unknown, but if we speak about biological depression, its causes are clear.
Depression caused by biological factors is usually called a mild one. Symptoms of mild depression are not severe and are generally characterized as neurotic ones:
- phobias;
- anxiety;
- obsession symptoms;
- dissociative symptoms.
People with symptoms of mild depression may lead a normal way of life and they usually do not stop doing the things they got used to. The primer difference in the way they behave is the fact they are always in low spirits and are not sharp in their interests and ideas.
To treat symptoms of mild depression one should change his/her lifestyle, do regular exercises, sleep, eat and entertain regularly as well. Many natural therapies are effective for such depression, if it is diagnosed early.
Biological Causes Of Depression
There are four primer biological factors that cause depression. They usually do not act on their own, but are successfully combined with environmental irritants that lead to depression.
Genetics
This factor plays the most important role in the development of biological depression. Such depression runs in families and is frequently hereditary. There have been done many studies, especially with twins. They showed that the average rate of mood disorders among twins is from 40% to 65%. So, when one twin suffers from depression, there is a 40%-60% chance that another twin will be affected as well.
Today for many people mood disorders are inherited. Children, who are genetically susceptible to disorders in mood, usually have an early age of onset and a greater rate of suffering from biological depression.
Though depression generates from most families, it is still possible to develop it even when there is no history of depression in the family.
Hormonal Imbalance
This is one more biological cause of depression. There has always been a link between hormonal imbalance and depression. Depressed people have an excess amount of a hormone, which regulates the response of the body to anger, stress and fear. The hormone is called cortisol.
The level of this hormone in a healthy person reaches its peak in the morning and usually decreases throughout the day. The level of cortisol in a depressed person remains elevated throughout the day and night, which results in imbalance.
Brain Chemistry
Abnormal structure and chemistry of the brain frequently contribute to biological depression. The structure of brain in depressed people varies from that of healthy people. In a depressed person the parts of the brain that are responsible for regulating sleep, appetite, thinking, behavior and mood don’t function in a proper way.
Such people have imbalance of neurotransmitters. These are the chemicals that are used by the brain cells to prevent the brain from functioning effectively.
Depression also results from the neurotransmitter systems dysregulation. These systems are involved in the pathophysiology of a severe depression.
Sleep Abnormalities
People, prone to depression, have a pre-mature loss of sleep, altered rapid eye movement latency and slow delta wave sleep. Reduced altered rapid eye movement latency influences the recovery from depression.
As you see, there are several biological causes of depression. They all can be effectively treated, if identified early. People, who suffer from depression, cannot lead normal life and stop doing the things they used to like.