Debate Summary: The Causes of Depression

In unit 7, the learner participated in the discussion on the cause of depression. Depression is a debilitating mental disorder that can be harmful to people's lifestyle. For centuries psychologists and researchers have been exploring the sole cause of depression and have identified two perspectives to date. The viewpoint of cognitive behavior includes the influence of erroneous thinking arising from low self-esteem and helplessness of learning. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of cognitive behavior, it is suggested that environmental impacts such as bad living environment and socioeconomic problems are causes of depression.

Scientists believe that depression is a disease of the brain, but discussion about the exact cause continues. Many factors such as genetic traits, changes in hormonal levels, specific medical conditions, stress, sadness, substance abuse, etc. can cause episodes of depression. Either one of these factors, alone or in combination, may result in a specific change in brain chemistry that results in many symptoms of depression, bipolar disorder, and related conditions. Of course, all of us may occasionally encounter one or more symptoms. The emergence of any of these symptoms does not constitute depression. Medical experts often find groups of these symptoms that occur regularly for more than two weeks and affect people's living functions when they suspect they are depressed.

Depression is associated with a number of psychological and physical symptoms that are frequently used to screen depression in clinical settings. This summary is specific to how people experience symptoms of depression. The remainder of this site focuses on the symptoms associated with other mental health problems that often coexist with depression, and the recognition of depression from the human point of view. (For more information, please refer to "Depression and Anxiety Disorder", "Depression and Eating Disorder", "Depression and Obsession", "Depression").

Depression is a medical psychiatric disorder that results in sustained sorrow, despair, and unnoticeable emotions. Depression affects the way people feel, act and think. It may also cause mental and physical problems. People with depression feel that it is difficult to do daily life. As a human being, many of us have encountered difficult times in our lives. Although these emotions are short-lived, people with depression become long-lasting feelings