In today’s day and age, life is filled with many events that can affect a person’s life. Some of these events can lead to life-threatening situations. One of these situations is being a victim of depression. Depression affects the way a person thinks, acts, and even the way the brain functions. Everything may seem fine on the outside but deep down, depression will slowly eat away at the person inside until the only thing left is an empty shell of despair and sorrows. This could, in turn, make people wish to end their life, end what feels like an eternal misery. Even if everything seems to get better, nothing can undo the damage caused by depression, no one is immune to this and that is what makes depression such a big problem. With many people
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According to the article, “Long-Term Effects of Untreated Depression,” depression can cause cardiovascular damage. The article states, “When serotonin levels in the brain are imbalanced, it affects other brain chemicals and metabolites as well, which in turn affects the central nervous system's ability to function properly,” for example, one thing that can happen is a person’s fight or flight response could stop functioning properly, which causes the brain to randomly exert adrenaline. When this happens, the cardiovascular system will be permanently damaged. Not only that, but, “depression also increases endothelial inflammation, which causes stress to arteries and blood vessels, and increases the stickiness of platelets, which in turn increases the risk for blood clots and heart attacks.” So depression could affect the way a person’s heart functions and this could in turn lead to an early. The article also mentions that a person with untreated depression have the possibility to die up to 25 years earlier than the average person (Gutowski). This is just one thing that depression can do to a person. Here are a couple things that depression can do to the …show more content…
3 ways that depression affects the brain is that it could cause the hippocampus to shrink, cause the prefrontal cortex to shrink, and cause the amygdala to enlarge. The hippocampus is where memories are stored but that isn’t the only thing the hippocampus does. It also produces a hormone called, “cortisol,” and when a person is stressed, the hippocampus releases large amounts cortisol. If the brain is exposed to increased cortisol levels for a long period of time, the neurons in the hippocampus will shrink, causing memory problems. Then there is the prefrontal cortex, according to, “The Effects of Depression on the Brain,” it states that, “The prefrontal cortex is located in the very front of the brain. It is responsible for regulating emotions, making decisions, and forming memories,” since the prefrontal cortex is responsible for forming memories, the prefrontal cortex would also shrinks when the brain is exposed to long-term increased cortisol levels. Lastly there is the amygdala. The amygdala is responsible for emotional responses such as fear or pleasure, but when a person has depression, the amygdala gets bigger and more active due to the high cortisol levels. This can lead to trouble sleeping or disturbances in activity patterns and then could lead to further complications in the brain and body (Cirino, 2016). Since the brain is affected, it would make sense if other aspects of the body or mind are affected as, being
According to the article, “Long-Term Effects of Untreated Depression,” depression can cause cardiovascular damage. The article states, “When serotonin levels in the brain are imbalanced, it affects other brain chemicals and metabolites as well, which in turn affects the central nervous system's ability to function properly,” for example, one thing that can happen is a person’s fight or flight response could stop functioning properly, which causes the brain to randomly exert adrenaline. When this happens, the cardiovascular system will be permanently damaged. Not only that, but, “depression also increases endothelial inflammation, which causes stress to arteries and blood vessels, and increases the stickiness of platelets, which in turn increases the risk for blood clots and heart attacks.” So depression could affect the way a person’s heart functions and this could in turn lead to an early. The article also mentions that a person with untreated depression have the possibility to die up to 25 years earlier than the average person (Gutowski). This is just one thing that depression can do to a person. Here are a couple things that depression can do to the …show more content…
3 ways that depression affects the brain is that it could cause the hippocampus to shrink, cause the prefrontal cortex to shrink, and cause the amygdala to enlarge. The hippocampus is where memories are stored but that isn’t the only thing the hippocampus does. It also produces a hormone called, “cortisol,” and when a person is stressed, the hippocampus releases large amounts cortisol. If the brain is exposed to increased cortisol levels for a long period of time, the neurons in the hippocampus will shrink, causing memory problems. Then there is the prefrontal cortex, according to, “The Effects of Depression on the Brain,” it states that, “The prefrontal cortex is located in the very front of the brain. It is responsible for regulating emotions, making decisions, and forming memories,” since the prefrontal cortex is responsible for forming memories, the prefrontal cortex would also shrinks when the brain is exposed to long-term increased cortisol levels. Lastly there is the amygdala. The amygdala is responsible for emotional responses such as fear or pleasure, but when a person has depression, the amygdala gets bigger and more active due to the high cortisol levels. This can lead to trouble sleeping or disturbances in activity patterns and then could lead to further complications in the brain and body (Cirino, 2016). Since the brain is affected, it would make sense if other aspects of the body or mind are affected as, being