Isn’t depression just “in your head” or psychological?

This is still a popular belief which got its start in the middle ages. It’s awfully out of date for at least since about 1920. In the early part of the 1900s it became a parent depression was biological in part and the other part was psychological. Italian researchers found that people who had diabetes and then got low blood sugar and had a seizure, experienced a dramatic improvement in their mood. Later insulin was introduced as a therapy for depression, when it triggered a seizure, peoples mood got better. Later electric shock therapy provided the same benefit without the side effect of low blood sugar, which can of course be harmful to the brain and the rest of body. Electric shock therapy had its drawbacks however, with short term memory loss with repeated treatments. Modern improvements has reduced this side effect, but it still persists.

Evidence that depression is biological is immense. You can do an Internet search of “biological causes of depression“ or “depression is biological,” or do the same on the search engine “Google Scholar,“ and you’ll see literally thousands of articles from research centers all over the world.

Another interesting search is “brain imaging studies and depression.“ Select “images” on Google and you’ll see literally hundreds of MRI scans and CT images and functional MRI scans as well as pet scans of people’s brains who are depressed. There is a 10% decrease in size in the brains of the memory center, the hippocampus, more so in women than in men. In men there doesn’t seem to be much of a change. Also in depression there is also a decrease in activity in the frontal part of brain, where we do our thinking, and in the nucleus accumbens, which functions for attention. No wonder people with depression say it’s hard to focus, hard to remember things, and hard to make decisions when there’s lots of different sources of information. There are physical reasons for those symptoms, so people don’t need to blame themselves for being “weak“ or somehow “neurodivergent.“

Genetic studies also inform us. The rate of depression in the general population is about 5%, but if one parent is depressed that rate leaps to 10 to 20%, or an increase of 100% to 400%. If both parents are depressed then that child’s chance of getting depression is about 40%, or 800% greater than the regular population. When twins are raised apart from each other and adopted away to different adoptive parents, limiting environmental similarities, then if one twin is depressed, the chance of the second twin is also much larger than in the general population.

That brings up the question, “what genetic issues are behind depression?“ These studies are on going. You can go to “Google scholar“ and search “genetics and depression.“ There are literally hundreds of studies on the topic and dozens of genes are thought to be a factor in depression.

Biological depression treatment also hammer home the case that depression is often times very biological. The use of psilocybin mushrooms can sometimes improve a persons mood within hours, and sometimes that can be sustained by small doses, given several times a week or daily. Psilocybin now is thought to increase the risk for defects in certain valves in the heart that could lead to heart issues later in life. Even biological natural therapies are not without potential side effects. Mushroom therapy should only be done under the supervision of a doctor. Also intravenous ketamine therapy can sometimes improve a person mood dramatically within one to several days. New biological treatments include transcranial magnetic stimulation, where powerful magnetic radiation can induce subtle changes in the electrical currents in the brain’s depression center, the anterior prefrontal cortex. This is a small area roughly between our ears and our eyes deep in the brain. It seems to be overactive in depression.

So depression is as biological and genetic as any other medical condition. As such, there is no shame in seeking biological treatment. This is no different than getting an antibiotic for a sinus infection that becomes quite painful. The pain of medical issues is the way the body tries to call attention to a problem. Other examples include the pain you get when you get a sunburn, a broken bone, or an ear infection.

Therefore, there are plenty of reasons to view depression as a biological condition with biological treatments, so there is no shame for getting such treatment. The idea that depression is shameful a comes from the Middle Ages, as noted above, and is based on beliefs that are irrational, and based on folk tales and old wives tales. Back then they thought depression was from the pineal gland, an area which the brain only has one of. All other structures in the brain come in pairs.

Because people don’t question beliefs, especially beliefs from the Middle Ages, then they end up promoting them and all the shame and suffering that comes with it, which for some people increases the risk for suicide. Many people commit suicide, in part because they hold onto these beliefs from the Middle Ages, and which have been discounted since at least 1920.

So if you have depression, how can you tell you have the signs of a biological rather than a psychological depression? If you’re sleep is off, meaning it hard to get to sleep, or stay asleep, and you only get 4 to 6 hours sleep, and it is poor quality, so you are tired all the next day, that is one sign. Another sign is if it’s hard to focus, your mind is wandering a lot when people are talking to you and when you’re reading. Other signs include poor memory, you can’t remember what people told you the day before, or what you did the day before. There can also be slow thinking in a person, and as a result talking more slowly with others noticing it. Facial expressions can be flat. Person can lose interest in the passions and hobbies they used to have. They may socialize very little, isolating to hide their depressed appearance from others. If you have three or four of these, that is strongly suggestive that there is a large component of a biological depression in the depression you’re going through.

If you have suicidal thoughts, that alone is reason to assume there is a strong component of biology in your depression. Which means counseling often times Will do very little even over weeks or months time. If something is biological, psychological treatments are essentially worthless by themselves. Psychotherapy is very helpful in connection with using medicine. Therefore, you have a lot of signs of a biological depression, you should seek out a psychiatrist for help. it’s the only decent kind of thing to do for yourself. Then get yourself to a counselor.