September 25, 2024 • 9 mins
Depression is a common condition, and highly treatable, but there's still a lot we don't understand about how it works. Learn about depression's probable causes, usual symptoms, and effective treatments in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/depression/facts/depression.htm
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,
Lauren vohglah bahm. Here, I wanted to let you know
at the top here that we're talking about mental health today,
So if you're not up for that, take care of yourself.
But okay, a we as a society don't talk enough
about mental health. It's totally normal for all of us
(00:25):
to find ourselves feeling down or worried sometimes with the
state of the world around us. I think it was
a little strange if you never did. But what about
if those feelings persist, grow to be overwhelming, maybe affect
your work or studies or relationships, or maybe make it
feel difficult to get anything done. That might be depression.
(00:49):
Just like any other health issue, depression can manifest differently
in each of us, varying in severity and symptoms, and
therefore solutions for it can vary too. Also, as with
many things about our weird and wondrous human bodies, researchers
aren't entirely sure how depression works. Today, let's talk about
(01:09):
what we do and don't know about this branch of
mental health. First off, depression is a broad term. Health
professionals can diagnose different flavors of depressive conditions based on
a person's age, when and how and how frequently symptoms appear,
and whether the person has any other mental or physical
health issues going on. The definition common to all of
(01:34):
these is a measure of sadness, emptiness, or irritability that
impedes your capacity to function. More specific symptoms can include
loss of interest and usual activities, a withdrawal from family
of friends, feelings of guilt, hopelessness, helplessness or worthlessness, changes
in sleeping habits like being unable to sleep or sleeping
(01:56):
too much, fatigue and lethargy or hyperactivity in restlessness, changes
in eating habits leading to weight loss or weight gain, indecision,
difficulty concentrating or forgetfulness, persistent pains that don't respond to treatment,
like headaches, stomach aches, or digestive problems, a worstening of
other conditions like arthritis or diabetes, and or thoughts or
(02:19):
actions towards self harm or death. That's a lot of
symptoms and a bunch of contradictory ones, and no two
people will have the same ones to the same levels
of severity. But if someone experiences five or more of
these symptoms for over two weeks that might be diagnosed
(02:40):
as major depressive disorder. If someone experiences just a couple
of them, but for a couple years running, that might
be what's called persistent depressive disorder. There are also specifications
that can help diagnose forms of depression in someone going
through prolonged grief, or someone who has particular trouble the
week before their menstrual cycle or during certain seasons of
(03:01):
the year, or someone with symptoms tied to another medical condition,
or a child or adolescent who's struggling. You can experience
depression once in a lifetime, brought on by a single
stressful event, or it can recur throughout your life. There
is no single cause for depression, though research does suggest
(03:22):
four factors from which it likely results, often in combination. Genetic, biochemical, psychological,
and environmental. Scientists haven't found a gene for depression, but
they have seen evidence based on family histories suggesting that
there may be a genetic link. Children of people with
(03:42):
major depressive disorder are more likely to experience depression than
the general population. Something in the way those children are
raised could have an influence, but research has shown that
social and family environmental factors are less important than genetic ones. However,
because depression also occurs in individuals without family histories of
(04:03):
the condition, we continue to study additional factors. Other research
with magnetic resonance imaging has revealed differences in the brains
of people with depressive conditions. People with depression have abnormal
levels of sub neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers between cells
and the brain, in between the nervous system and other
cells in the body. Having enough of these chemical messengers
(04:27):
helps us process and regulate our mood and memory and
behavior in complicated ways that we don't entirely understand yet.
Researchers have honed in on three in particular, serotonin, neuropinephrine,
and dopamine. Psychological factors also come into play. People with
(04:48):
certain characteristics such as pessimism and low self esteem have
a tendency to develop depression, and stressful happenings such as
relationship changes, illness, financial problems, or any major life event
like a move or a job change can trigger a
depressive event. Again, it's not straightforward or simple. The onset
(05:11):
of depression frequently occurs from a combination of these causes.
Depression is highly treatable, but one of the complications of
depression is that you don't always want to talk to anyone,
or that you feel guilty about feeling sad. Wrapped up
in all this, there's still some misplaced social stigma about
mental health, which is why I'm doing this episode. It's
(05:35):
just part of our health. There shouldn't be any shame
in it. The first step toward getting help is to
talk to a health professional. If you have a primary doctor,
a family doctor, or other medical caregiver who you trust,
they're a great place to start. Though, if you don't,
and there are lots of online services and local organizations
that are designed to get you on a path to
(05:56):
diagnosis and treatment. There's no easy test like a blood
panel or X ray. However, doctors may sometimes order lab
tests for things like thyroid or heart or brain conditions
to make sure that no more immediately serious physical disease
is causing depression type symptoms that would require its own treatment. Generally,
(06:19):
a health professional will ask you about your and your
family's medical history. Then they'll talk with you about your
physical and social and psychological symptoms and your mood, determining
what symptoms are present when they began, and your general
state of mind. They might use a written or spoken
diagnostic questionnaire. Researchers have come up with a bunch of
(06:39):
different ones that can quickly, easily and accurate lea score
how serious a person's symptoms are, since those symptoms can
be difficult to self report. Once you have a diagnosis,
there are lots of different treatment options because mental health
is highly individual, but what works for any given person
can vary. It can take some time to determine what
(07:01):
works for you, but over eighty percent of people who
are treated experience improvement. Effective and common treatments for major
and chronic depression are antidepressant medications to relieve symptoms, and
talk therapy to learn effective coping methods, or a combination
of the two. Antidepressant medications help to normalize levels of
(07:24):
those mood regulating neurotransmitter chemicals in the brain. The most
common medications these days because they tend to be pretty
effective and not have too many negative side effects, are
SSRIs that stands for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Basically, they
work by preventing your body from reabsorbing a molecule of
(07:44):
serotonin after it's transmitted a message, so that serotonin molecule
can keep on keeping on in your brain. There are
other reuptake inhibitors for norbinephrin and dopamine and other antidepressants
that work in yet other ways. Type of medication may
work better than another from person to person, and sometimes
it takes a few tries to find one or a
(08:06):
combination that works well. Talk therapy, also known as psychotherapy,
can be used in conjunction with medication or solo. It
involves talking through symptoms, behaviors, and situations with a mental
health professional. There are two main types most common today.
Cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT is meant to teach you
(08:27):
new ways of thinking and behaving, and interpersonal therapy or
IPT is meant to help you understand and work on
personal relationships and social behaviors that may be contributing to
your depression. Just as with medication based treatments, can take
a few tries to find a talk therapist or a
course of therapy that works for you. For a science podcast,
(08:51):
all of this is infuriatingly inspecific, just whibbly wobbly, brainywhiney.
Lots more research is being done into the complex soup
of conditions that creates our mental health. Hopefully in the
future we'll have more precise answers. In the meanwhile, if
you're worried about yourself for a loved one, please remember
(09:11):
that even with everything we don't know, depression is real
and clinical and highly treatable. It can get better, and
there is nothing wrong needing a little help. Today's episode
is based on the article how Depression Works on how
stuffworks dot Com, written by Maria Tremarky. Brain Stuff is
(09:33):
production by Heart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot
Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts
from my heart Radio. Visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,
Lauren vohglah bahm. Here, I wanted to let you know
at the top here that we're talking about mental health today,
So if you're not up for that, take care of yourself.
But okay, a we as a society don't talk enough
about mental health. It's totally normal for all of us
(00:25):
to find ourselves feeling down or worried sometimes with the
state of the world around us. I think it was
a little strange if you never did. But what about
if those feelings persist, grow to be overwhelming, maybe affect
your work or studies or relationships, or maybe make it
feel difficult to get anything done. That might be depression.
(00:49):
Just like any other health issue, depression can manifest differently
in each of us, varying in severity and symptoms, and
therefore solutions for it can vary too. Also, as with
many things about our weird and wondrous human bodies, researchers
aren't entirely sure how depression works. Today, let's talk about
(01:09):
what we do and don't know about this branch of
mental health. First off, depression is a broad term. Health
professionals can diagnose different flavors of depressive conditions based on
a person's age, when and how and how frequently symptoms appear,
and whether the person has any other mental or physical
health issues going on. The definition common to all of
(01:34):
these is a measure of sadness, emptiness, or irritability that
impedes your capacity to function. More specific symptoms can include
loss of interest and usual activities, a withdrawal from family
of friends, feelings of guilt, hopelessness, helplessness or worthlessness, changes
in sleeping habits like being unable to sleep or sleeping
(01:56):
too much, fatigue and lethargy or hyperactivity in restlessness, changes
in eating habits leading to weight loss or weight gain, indecision,
difficulty concentrating or forgetfulness, persistent pains that don't respond to treatment,
like headaches, stomach aches, or digestive problems, a worstening of
other conditions like arthritis or diabetes, and or thoughts or
(02:19):
actions towards self harm or death. That's a lot of
symptoms and a bunch of contradictory ones, and no two
people will have the same ones to the same levels
of severity. But if someone experiences five or more of
these symptoms for over two weeks that might be diagnosed
(02:40):
as major depressive disorder. If someone experiences just a couple
of them, but for a couple years running, that might
be what's called persistent depressive disorder. There are also specifications
that can help diagnose forms of depression in someone going
through prolonged grief, or someone who has particular trouble the
week before their menstrual cycle or during certain seasons of
(03:01):
the year, or someone with symptoms tied to another medical condition,
or a child or adolescent who's struggling. You can experience
depression once in a lifetime, brought on by a single
stressful event, or it can recur throughout your life. There
is no single cause for depression, though research does suggest
(03:22):
four factors from which it likely results, often in combination. Genetic, biochemical, psychological,
and environmental. Scientists haven't found a gene for depression, but
they have seen evidence based on family histories suggesting that
there may be a genetic link. Children of people with
(03:42):
major depressive disorder are more likely to experience depression than
the general population. Something in the way those children are
raised could have an influence, but research has shown that
social and family environmental factors are less important than genetic ones. However,
because depression also occurs in individuals without family histories of
(04:03):
the condition, we continue to study additional factors. Other research
with magnetic resonance imaging has revealed differences in the brains
of people with depressive conditions. People with depression have abnormal
levels of sub neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers between cells
and the brain, in between the nervous system and other
cells in the body. Having enough of these chemical messengers
(04:27):
helps us process and regulate our mood and memory and
behavior in complicated ways that we don't entirely understand yet.
Researchers have honed in on three in particular, serotonin, neuropinephrine,
and dopamine. Psychological factors also come into play. People with
(04:48):
certain characteristics such as pessimism and low self esteem have
a tendency to develop depression, and stressful happenings such as
relationship changes, illness, financial problems, or any major life event
like a move or a job change can trigger a
depressive event. Again, it's not straightforward or simple. The onset
(05:11):
of depression frequently occurs from a combination of these causes.
Depression is highly treatable, but one of the complications of
depression is that you don't always want to talk to anyone,
or that you feel guilty about feeling sad. Wrapped up
in all this, there's still some misplaced social stigma about
mental health, which is why I'm doing this episode. It's
(05:35):
just part of our health. There shouldn't be any shame
in it. The first step toward getting help is to
talk to a health professional. If you have a primary doctor,
a family doctor, or other medical caregiver who you trust,
they're a great place to start. Though, if you don't,
and there are lots of online services and local organizations
that are designed to get you on a path to
(05:56):
diagnosis and treatment. There's no easy test like a blood
panel or X ray. However, doctors may sometimes order lab
tests for things like thyroid or heart or brain conditions
to make sure that no more immediately serious physical disease
is causing depression type symptoms that would require its own treatment. Generally,
(06:19):
a health professional will ask you about your and your
family's medical history. Then they'll talk with you about your
physical and social and psychological symptoms and your mood, determining
what symptoms are present when they began, and your general
state of mind. They might use a written or spoken
diagnostic questionnaire. Researchers have come up with a bunch of
(06:39):
different ones that can quickly, easily and accurate lea score
how serious a person's symptoms are, since those symptoms can
be difficult to self report. Once you have a diagnosis,
there are lots of different treatment options because mental health
is highly individual, but what works for any given person
can vary. It can take some time to determine what
(07:01):
works for you, but over eighty percent of people who
are treated experience improvement. Effective and common treatments for major
and chronic depression are antidepressant medications to relieve symptoms, and
talk therapy to learn effective coping methods, or a combination
of the two. Antidepressant medications help to normalize levels of
(07:24):
those mood regulating neurotransmitter chemicals in the brain. The most
common medications these days because they tend to be pretty
effective and not have too many negative side effects, are
SSRIs that stands for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Basically, they
work by preventing your body from reabsorbing a molecule of
(07:44):
serotonin after it's transmitted a message, so that serotonin molecule
can keep on keeping on in your brain. There are
other reuptake inhibitors for norbinephrin and dopamine and other antidepressants
that work in yet other ways. Type of medication may
work better than another from person to person, and sometimes
it takes a few tries to find one or a
(08:06):
combination that works well. Talk therapy, also known as psychotherapy,
can be used in conjunction with medication or solo. It
involves talking through symptoms, behaviors, and situations with a mental
health professional. There are two main types most common today.
Cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT is meant to teach you
(08:27):
new ways of thinking and behaving, and interpersonal therapy or
IPT is meant to help you understand and work on
personal relationships and social behaviors that may be contributing to
your depression. Just as with medication based treatments, can take
a few tries to find a talk therapist or a
course of therapy that works for you. For a science podcast,
(08:51):
all of this is infuriatingly inspecific, just whibbly wobbly, brainywhiney.
Lots more research is being done into the complex soup
of conditions that creates our mental health. Hopefully in the
future we'll have more precise answers. In the meanwhile, if
you're worried about yourself for a loved one, please remember
(09:11):
that even with everything we don't know, depression is real
and clinical and highly treatable. It can get better, and
there is nothing wrong needing a little help. Today's episode
is based on the article how Depression Works on how
stuffworks dot Com, written by Maria Tremarky. Brain Stuff is
(09:33):
production by Heart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot
Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts
from my heart Radio. Visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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