Biological Causes Of Depression Essay

While Depression is a word often thrown around by a vast majority of people to describe a current, but ultimately ephemeral and temporary change in mood, it is much more. It represents a clinical health concern for many people worldwide. Understanding for what depression actually is is growing recently, but many still see it only as a sluggish laziness afflicting millions of their coworkers and family members (Oyama & Piotrowski 2015). But when that lazy Sunday blues causes thoughts and even attempts and sadly acts of suicide, it is much more than we give it credit for, and reason for alarm and concern, not blame. Not only that, but the data available about depression is only of cases that are diagnosed, which means only the people well enough …show more content…
Among the biological causes, genetics studies reveal an increased likelihood of depression among first degree relatives of someone with the condition. Other tests show an overall correlation between depression and the brains supply of neurochemicals. These tests show the strongest correlation among the class of neurotransmitters monoamines, which include dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin (Oyama & Piotrowski 2015). The causes of depression are not always biological however, and as many as 20% of adults will experience depression in their lives, often it can be caused by traumatic experiences or increased stress. These experiential causes are complicated, as they can range from an individual’s psychology to the influences of a society. Social causes of depression can arise from a lack of agency or autonomy created by relations to power, be they any mix of gender, class, or race. An individual may also suffer depression due to interpersonal trauma causing harmful and reciprocal thought patterns, such as low self-image and loss of motivation. It can also manifest as a complicated combination of social and psychological, as most things we do, even acting as individuals, are as social animals, and in the context of our place in our social environment. This is learned and evolutionary behavior, social awareness as function of situational