Questions about depression...

[BnY14]

Why does depression exist? Nothing its good about it..
Is it only teens that suffers from depression or do you adults do it too?? Why do you do it? Tell me please!

//A wondering teen...

[★Amethyst★]

Hey, person who's had depression checking in. Though I think I have dysthemia rather than depression proper.

To my knowledge, depression can infect everybody, even kids and the very old as well as everyone in between. I suppose depression can happen more easily when a person goes through situational or big life changes. I don't want to sound cheesy, but adolescence is often quite a big change for some people.

As for why people suffer from it, I really don't know for sure, though the above changes may affect it. It can be a completely mental thing, or it can be caused by things that have happened in one's life. Or both. I've been thinking about studying psychology so maybe I can learn a little more in the future.

If you have any questions I wouldn't mind answering from my own perspective. Do you suffer from some form of depression yourself, or just curious about it?

[BnY14]

Oh really... I thought it had something to do with hormones...

Well.. I am mostly curious about it but sometimes I feel really down and thinking very deep thoughts about this and that and I get very sad. Maybe its depression but not a "high grade depression"...

I actually got some questions for you.. I'll send a PM.

Thank you so much!

[Oanta]

Amethyst is right.  Depression can affect everyone not matter what age or gender you are.  1 in 4 people suffer from a mental illness so it is more "normal" than you might think.


As for the cause, there used to be a debate between genetics or the environment.  Now, studies are showing that it is a combination of both.  Genetics does play a part in how your brain reacts to situations by releasing certain chemicals that make you feel better (or not if it doesn't send enough).  However, just because a family member has depression doesn't mean that you will have it.  Environment and behavior also plays a factor, though sometimes it may not seem to matter. 


This website has a lot of great info on mental illness: http://makeitok.org/.  I applaud you in wanting to find out more and talking about it instead of hiding it since that never helps.

[anoni]

For the genetics vs environment, I think the easiest way to visualize it is as so.

Genetics dictates what is possible for you to do, if you have the genetic code for depression, then it's POSSIBLE (or more likely than normal) that you will get depressed. However, environment plays as the 'activator' for genes, so just because something is possible doesn't mean it'll actually happen unless you have the right environment for it.

An example is like, suppose someone close to you dies, that's an environment that's going to activate some set of genes. Person A might have genes associated to resistance against negative emotions, so he might not get depression from this situation. However person B might have genes that make him less resistant, so therefore he is more likely to get depression. However, if the situation was licking an ice cream, the environment is different so the "depression" gene and the "non-depression" gene don't have any effect.

[Oanta]

Thanks Anoni. That's exactly right. I was tired when I wrote my previous post so it was probably hard  to read.

[BnY14]

Amethyst is right.  Depression can affect everyone not matter what age or gender you are.  1 in 4 people suffer from a mental illness so it is more "normal" than you might think.


As for the cause, there used to be a debate between genetics or the environment.  Now, studies are showing that it is a combination of both.  Genetics does play a part in how your brain reacts to situations by releasing certain chemicals that make you feel better (or not if it doesn't send enough).  However, just because a family member has depression doesn't mean that you will have it.  Environment and behavior also plays a factor, though sometimes it may not seem to matter. 


This website has a lot of great info on mental illness: http://makeitok.org/.  I applaud you in wanting to find out more and talking about it instead of hiding it since that never helps.

Thank you for your answer!

Post Merge: January 14, 2016, 10:25:59 PM

For the genetics vs environment, I think the easiest way to visualize it is as so.


Genetics dictates what is possible for you to do, if you have the genetic code for depression, then it's POSSIBLE (or more likely than normal) that you will get depressed. However, environment plays as the 'activator' for genes, so just because something is possible doesn't mean it'll actually happen unless you have the right environment for it.

An example is like, suppose someone close to you dies, that's an environment that's going to activate some set of genes. Person A might have genes associated to resistance against negative emotions, so he might not get depression from this situation. However person B might have genes that make him less resistant, so therefore he is more likely to get depression. However, if the situation was licking an ice cream, the environment is different so the "depression" gene and the "non-depression" gene don't have any effect.

Thank you so much aswell! Now I know alot and that is good!

[Goblin Cat 😸]

Adult with bouts of depression here.
I can't tell you why it exists, but it's very good to try and manage it before it becomes unmanageable. You can do so by going to a therapist and possibly (depending on how severe it is, whether it's situational, etc.) get on medication to help with it. Either way, no, not just teens suffer from it. It can hit anyone anywhere.

[BnY14]

Adult with bouts of depression here.
I can't tell you why it exists, but it's very good to try and manage it before it becomes unmanageable. You can do so by going to a therapist and possibly (depending on how severe it is, whether it's situational, etc.) get on medication to help with it. Either way, no, not just teens suffer from it. It can hit anyone anywhere.

Thank you for your answer I dont suffer alot from depression but sometimes I have it..

[Galefargion]

Personally my depression is something I have to fight with alot. I dont have any real life friends. I may look nice have some stuff blah blah, but i do get very lonely sometimes and because of how separated i tend to be, whenever someone does come around, it seems like they suddenly have great power to hurt me and make me judge myself. So in turn ill shy more.. its a brutal cycle sometimes. I get through the days by exercising, writing, and sometimes i resort to substances (Dont do it), but I often feel like i lack purpose except for bettering myself which even though i make progress, really doesnt bring me much joy. Its just a distraction. My memories are worse because I can remember alot of times when I was happy or did have people and less mattered years ago. Sometimes I wish I didnt have memories at all. In short though, even in all the pain, there is always some purpose. The best thing you can do is probably to stay occupied

[BnY14]

Personally my depression is something I have to fight with alot. I dont have any real life friends. I may look nice have some stuff blah blah, but i do get very lonely sometimes and because of how separated i tend to be, whenever someone does come around, it seems like they suddenly have great power to hurt me and make me judge myself. So in turn ill shy more.. its a brutal cycle sometimes. I get through the days by exercising, writing, and sometimes i resort to substances (Dont do it), but I often feel like i lack purpose except for bettering myself which even though i make progress, really doesnt bring me much joy. Its just a distraction. My memories are worse because I can remember alot of times when I was happy or did have people and less mattered years ago. Sometimes I wish I didnt have memories at all. In short though, even in all the pain, there is always some purpose. The best thing you can do is probably to stay occupied

I am so sorry to hear that I feel bad for you.. I cant really imagine how you feel because I am not depressed alot but I understand that its tough for you..

Thanks for the advice! I'll try my best to stay happy..

Send me a PM if you ever need to talk bro