Depression is a mental disorder that changes the way you feel and affects your physical activities. It is unavoidable. Whenever we listen to the story of a patient and they try to explain to us how they feel, why they feel and what are the consequences, we are judgmental, advise them, to be relaxed. These words are uttered by a person out of his ignorance about a certain issue. Also rather than giving them some sort of relief, our words are adding in it more. Always remember that being sad or happy is never in our own control. If someone remains sad and knows that it is destructing his life, it’s not in his control to rectify it for himself. The process that happens in his mind is quite different from the one which is owned by a normal person. Depression is not a feeling just, it will change your brain.
We acknowledge all those physical impacts that we have on our brain as consequences of depression. In this article, we will have a detailed look at how it will affect our brain. Our whole body is controlled by the nervous system. Who and how we are, all controlled by it. So if there are some changes in our NS then obviously it is going to change us as a whole.
Change in brain size:
There is a lot of debate that which part of the brain is exactly affected by depression. It is believed that depression will shrink most of the parts of your brain. These parts have grey matter in them so as size is reduced there is a remarkable reduction in the GM. The reduction is higher for those who face panic attacks on a regular basis.
Hippocampus:
It is a part of your brain which is responsible for memorizing. Also, it connects with other parts of the brain for controlling emotions and giving responses to stress hormones. In this way, it may be vulnerable to depression.
Other parts of the brain:
The prefrontal cortex part of your brain is responsible for overthinking. There are many pieces of evidence that show the Caudate nucleus, Insula, and Thalamus is also affected. Studies show that the Amygdala gets smaller in size. Some other studies say depression can boost its grey matter. Now if all of these compartments are not working the way they have to be, you might have symptoms like,
- The memory problems
- Thinking trouble
- Hopelessness or guilt feeling
- Loss of motivation
- Sleeping problem or loss of appetite
- Anxiety
The inflammation of the brain:
We are not sure that whether depression or brain inflammation comes first. There is a high amount of translocator protein in depression patients. These proteins are responsible for brain inflammation. Also, if a patient is untreated for depression for ten years, the same protein is higher there too. If this inflammation is becoming excessive with time then it can kill your brain cells, prevent the growth of new brain cells, overthink or increase the brain aging process.
These changings are permanent or temporary?
Researchers are still finding answers to this question. Some shreds of evidence show that depression can cause long-term changes in the hippocampus of the brain. It is based on evidence in which a reduction in the grey matter was observed in those people who have life long history of depression but were not having it in recent years. Some more research is needed for addressing this issue in a better way so that we can find out some of the treatments that can reverse those issues.
Use of Antidepressants:
Antidepressants work on the chemicals in your brain that is causing depression. Also, it can help your brain to grow new cells and reduce inflammation.
Cognitive behavior therapy:
It is also called CBT. It promotes neuroplasticity in which you can change your brain in way that can aid you to hunt depression.
Increases risk of physical illness:
Depression will increase the stress hormone in your body such as adrenaline and cortisol. Your immune system is also affected by it and it is harder for you to fight effectively against infections. Some of the vaccinations are less affected for the adults if they are suffering from depression. There is an increased risk of heart disease.
Restriction of oxygen:
Depression is linked with the reduction in oxygen levels in the body. The change in breathing pattern during depression is likely to cause it. Also, there is a risk of developing hypoxia to reduce oxygen levels. Our brain is highly sensitive to the reduction in oxygen levels. It will lead to brain cell injury, inflammation, and even cell death. Hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatment is used to treat it for increasing circulation.
Disturbance of the digestive system:
Depression will play a role in disturbing appetite patterns and nutrition in your body. Some people start overeating which will grant them obesity. Obesity comes up with several other health-related issues such as diabetes. While others lose interest in eating and do not take the right amount of nutrition as needed to your body. Loss of interest in eating can lead to the condition known as Anorexia. Some other symptoms are also associated such as cramps, stomachaches, constipation, and malnutrition. If these symptoms are not treated with the intake of diet, medication can’t give any relief.
Seeking help for depression:
If you are facing symptoms for a long time then you need to take medical assistance. Contact an expert. As they are expert in treating, they can properly guide you . Also, you need to bring some changes in your life and take medication. Being suicidal is a very serious issue. And if you are having such thoughts of hurting yourself then you need to get assistance.
Wrapping up/Conclusion:
Depression is a mental disorder just replica to other diseases such as heart failure, kidney failure, etc. Just because there are no visible symptoms on the body of the patient in most of the cases, we ignore them. This backlash for them put them further apart. However, depression will affect your brain such as inflammation, decrease in size, decrease in body immunity, etc. We are still finding that whether these changes are temporary or permanent. But evidence shows that these changes are long-term. If you are suffering from depression for more than two weeks then you need to take help from an expert. Antidepressants and therapy can help you out in this regard.
