What are the causes of anxiety and depression? Depression can be cause by malnutrition, heredity, hormones, seasons, stress, illness, neurotransmitter malfunction. Neutron transmitter defficieny or malfunction is c ommonly associated with depression. Serotonin levels are usually low in persons with depression. Serotonin is the brain chemical which makes us feel happy that is why it is called the “feel good” neurotransmitter. Studies also suggest that anxious and depressed individuals have over excited nerve cells or nerve cells that fires too much. Over excited nerve cells result from low GABA (Gamma Amino Butyric Acid) activity. The low levels of neurotransmitter could be attributed to malnutrition, disease and genetics.
In malnutrition, the body is not receiving enough vitamins, minerals and amino acids to support brain function. Vitamin-B is very important in the normal function of the brain and the nervous system.
Heredity significantly plays a role in depression. Your DNA predetermines your susceptibility for this disease. If you have a close relative that has a history of depression, then it is also likely that you or a close relative of yours could have depression.
Hormonal imbalance is another cause of depression. In females, hormonal balance is the ratio of progesterone and estrogen. High levels of estrogen or low levels of progesterone is linked to depression.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a mood which is usually characterized by the feeling of uneasiness, apprehension, or worry. Usually, anxiety does noes not involve a stimulus or trigger. The person with anxiety would just worry or feel uneasy for no identifiable or illogical reasons.
Anxiety is distinguished from fear for the reason that the feeling of fear usually involves an identifiable trigger or a cause. Anxiety on the hand is a result of threats which are perceived to be unavoidable or uncontrollable.
Anxiety also involves a number of physical symptoms which includes but are not limited to shortness of breath, heart palpitations, nausea, chest pain, stomach aches, or headaches.
What is depression?
Depression is a condition characterized by the following elements according to the DSM-IV-TR (p. 356) manual.
1. Depressed Mood
2. Loss of interest or pleasure
A depressed mood often includes feeling sad, helpless, and hopeless. People usually feel depressed at some point in their life but in clinical depression, this feeling of sadness persists for long periods of time. Depressed mood could also include the feeling of anger, fear, anxiety, despair, guilt, apathy, and/or grief. Other symptoms and indicators of depression are the following.
void of emotions, disorganized, feeling like no one understands, boredom, fear, desire to be taken care of, paranoia, irrational fears, easily frustrated, hair becomes wiry, eczema, having trouble getting dressed or choosing clothes, feelings of regret for past decisions, inability to function, difficulty concentrating, withdrawal, inactivity, slow speech, walking slow, irritability, confusion, crying easily, inability to enjoy things, insecurity, anxiety, sore shoulders and neck, low back pain, low libido, binge eating junk food, inability to show affection, .
Prolonged depressed mood is harmful to the body because this usually leads to decreased appetite, restlesness (difficulty in getting sleep), elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol and a weakend immune system. Depression also interferes with the proper functions of the human brain and it could lead to a host of several disease.
Anxiety and depression
Anxiety is considered to be a characteristic feature of a lot of people. It helps an individual become vigilant, learn and perform well if it is in its normal form. But if it becomes excessive, it will begin to work against us. Intense focus to oneself and apprehension will immediately lessen the attention as well as the performance, which could be aggravated by certain combination of emotions just like anger, shame, guilt, or sadness that amalgamates with predominant fear and in turn, will make up the individual’s distinctive anxiety.
feelings of stress and anxiety are indications which are responses to pressure and the more pressure will become intolerable or persistent, the worse the anxiety will be. This will not just signify a specific and overpowering difficulty. This is usually a result of the accumulation of things.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is perhaps the commonest anxiety disorder which affects about five to six percent of the populace. This is characterized by severe worry regarding all kinds of problems in life and the circumstances. It varies from the usual worrying by way of intensity, frequency and uncontrollability that is perceived when it comes to worry thoughts. Perhaps, there is a biological basis of GAD by which several people are likely to be over responsive to the stressors in life and research in families indicates that there is a possibility of some genetic influence.
Depression
This has nothing to do with weakness and there seems to be no specific kind of person who is more susceptible to depression. The term depression is used in covering an extensive range of problems beginning with low moods in short periods to mind-numbing incapacity to function that often lasts for a lifetime. Majority of cases which involve low mood will be able to fix themselves alone and will not need medical interference. Nonetheless, at a certain time, just about five to ten percent of the populace suffers from depression at a certain degree which requires support and it is possible that about twenty percent of people will experience depressive episodes of any kind all throughout their lives. It is possible that half of individuals suffering from clinical depression will also suffer from another kind of mental health dilemma just like anxiety disorder. Area in behavioral or attention difficulty will likely affect children and adolescents.
Although, depression can affect anybody, there can be some risk factors that will make the problem possible as seen in anxiety disorders. This will include abuse experienced during childhood, severe trauma, having a family member who has the problem or loss of a parent during the younger years. The latter instance may probably involve the loss of an important person who is very near to the child.