Cognitive and Social Factors of Depression - Assignment Example

INTRODUCTION Depression is one of the widely prevalent but least understood medical disorders in our times. How many people have not felt our “lows” and feelings of utter helplessness and called ourselves depressed after an event that had an impact on their psyche. Only to reach out to mood elevators like chocolates or going out to “cheer up”. In extreme cases, there are many people who have gone to the extent of taking medication to treat what may be cured by simple counselling and a change in the lifestyle and mindset. On the other hand, there are countless others for who if they were treated in time or sought professional help early, would not have turned into the extreme cases of dissociative disorder that threatens their way of life and renders them incapable of what is called a functional lifestyle. In other words, they become dysfunctional adults. In some cases, other psychological disorders are confused with depression and treated improperly. This leads to a situation where complications arise and take away the happiness of the individual concerned (Schwartz, 2009). This paper looks at what depression is and what are the cognitive, biological and social factors that contribute to it. This paper starts off by giving the medical definition of depression and distinguishes it from the other aspects of mental disorders. Then, the causal factors that lead to depression are looked at. Often, many people end up blaming their genes or their upbringing or both when the reason may be somewhat different (Personality Research, 2009). DEFINTION AND OVERVIEW Depression can be defined as a feeling of sadness or helplessness accompanied by severe mood swings that combine anxiety, guilt, fear and other such feelings. The phenomenon of depression is essentially characterized by what are called “negative” emotions. If these feelings are allowed to continue, they may be harmful to the body and the brain and may lead to suicidal tendencies. According to a study, Depression in one form or the other affects 5-10 % of the adult population in the United States (Kramer, 2009). Thus, there is a growing body of literature that studies the effects and causes of depression. Concurrently, there are numerous support groups that deal with this condition and provide services to the affected population. Depression is often confused with other Dissociative Identity Disorders or DID’s and some of them are schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, multiple personality disorder etc. The reason for this inability to accurately diagnose depression is because psychological disorders usually come in a spectrum of symptoms and the patients suffering from one type of disorder may experience other types of disorders as well. Whatever be the medical jargon used to characterize the spectrum of disorders that are linked to depression, it is apparent that this is one medical condition that needs timely and relevant treatment. This can take the form of simple counselling by the psychologist or can take the extreme instance of institutionalization at the other end. A feeling of being depressed is linked to the dopamine and serotonin levels in the brain. Thus, the medications that seek to cure depression are often for regulating the activities of these two elements (Personality Research, 2009) COGNITIVE FACTORS The cognitive factors that are associated with depression include: Self Evaluation, Identification of Skill Deficits, Evaluation of life experiences, Self Talk, Automatic thoughts etc. Each of these factors is discussed in detail. A point to be noted here is that these are attributes of lack of learning skills and other factors associated with the process of cognition, or the process of knowing. Depressed people evaluate themselves poorly. They attribute negative causes to their behaviours and describe themselves in negative terms. Instead of focusing on the positive aspects of their mistakes or failures, they tend to take an overly pessimistic view of the situation and fall into a loop of negative behaviour and exhibit negative traits. Another cognitive factor is that people suffering from depression identify themselves and their social skills rather accurately. For instance, it is not uncommon for them to say that “they are poor at a certain task” and this may be true. What makes it difficult is that they do not try to get over this assessment and fall into the trap of repeating the negative behaviour. While assessment may be spot on, what is needed is a way of combating it as well. Another set of cognitive factors are self talk and automatic thoughts. While the former may not be “talking to oneself” literally, it means that there is a constant “chatter” that goes on in the mind of a depressed person that may at times be automatic and he or she may be unable to control such thoughts. The point here is that depressed people may not be able to control what they think with the resultant loss of will power and the desire to excel (Schwartz, 2009). BIOLOGICAL FACTORS There are a set of biological factors that contribute to depression. Some of them are: Genetic Factors, Biochemical factors, Hormonal alterations and sleep abnormalities. First, the genetic factors. As the saying goes, “Madness tends to run in families”. Though this is a rather crude way of putting it, it is nonetheless a somewhat apt description of the genetic factors behind depression. Studies have shown that identical twins are at a greater risk to suffer from depression than any other group of people. Further, if either the paternal or the maternal side of the family has had cases of psychological disorder, there is a greater likelihood that it would manifest in the children. Recent research has tended to concentrate on the biochemical make up of the brain and its causes for people to get depressed. There are certain neurotransmitter deficiencies or abnormalities that are thought to cause depression. Some of them have been discussed in the previous sections and have to do with the regulation of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. There is enough evidence to support the other cause of biological factor of depression namely that of unregulated hormonal behaviour in the body (Personality Research, 2009). The last factor that is discussed has to do with the biological swings to depression brought upon by sleep disorders. Depressed patients are more likely to have disturbed sleep patterns than the other groups of people. Though the recent research has tended to focus on the “brain” as a source of depression, one should avoid the tendency to “blame the brain” for all DID’s. It is only when genes and biology interact with the environment that these conditions manifest and in the next section we look at some of the social factors of depression (Kramer, 2009). SOCIAL FACTORS For a long time, depression was thought of as a disorder that emerged because of social and behavioural traits rather than the biological factors that were described in earlier sections. Thus, depressed kids were thought of as a result of bad parenting and abnormal conditions at home. Thus, the family and friends that a person had were seen as causes of depression. On the other hand, despite recent research into the factors related to the “makeup of the brain”, it is a fact that the environmental factors play a significant role in making people depressed. There has been enough research into the fact that children from home environments that are either single parent ones or disruptive parents are more likely than their counterparts from stable homes to show signs of depression. Thus, the conservative view of the family as a unit that determines the psychological behaviour should be given thought when devising strategies to combat depression (Kramer, 2009). The other factors like the social setting and the gender of the person makes for the other causes of depression. It has been shown that individuals in social settings that empower them and encourage them have a lesser tendency towards depression than the individuals in abusive and situations that promote discord. The point about people in abusive relationships tending to be depressed is self explanatory and obvious. It is commonsensical to think that people from these social ties are likely to be negative in their approach towards life. The other factor to be considered is that couples facing marital discord are likely to be depressed rather than the ones in marriages that can be described as happy (Schwartz, 2009). CONCLUSION As this paper has discussed, there are a host of reasons why people might feel depressed. For some, it is a temporary phenomenon as that of “one of those days” or what is called a “bad hair day”. For others, it is more of a permanent and recurring thing that sets in and refuses to leave them alone. Many depressed people have strategies for coping with depressed feelings and it can be in the form of medication or doing something that relieves those feelings (Kramer, 2009). The real danger is when one is no longer in control and this breakdown of will as we discussed in the first section that is dangerous to the individual and society. It can lead to anti-social behaviour and tendencies towards violence. This is the aspect that needs to be taken care of when dealing with depression. This paper discussed cognitive, biological and social factors of depression. Usually, it is not one of these factors that alone causes depression and it is the combination and interaction of each of these in turn that form a deadly cocktail that is responsible for depression. Thus, one is at a greater risk when all or some of these factors combine to form the “ghosts in the mind”. Any attempt to cure depression must take into account all the factors and only then can some success achieved in the fight against depression (Personality Research, 2009). In conclusion, treating depression ought to be among the high priority items for the healthcare providers and thus more allocation should be done in the budgetary funds. Depression, as stated in the previous sections, affects a significant number of people in the United States and hence all efforts must be made to address the issue. Sources Schwartz, Andrew. (2009). Surviving Schizophrenia. New York: Allen Lane. Kramer, Barry. (2009) Blaming the Brain. New York: Simon and Schuster. “Social Causes of Depression”. Personality Research.org. Retrieved 20 Feb 2009 from: http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/beattie.html Read More

According to a study, Depression in one form or the other affects 5-10 % of the adult population in the United States (Kramer, 2009). Thus, there is a growing body of literature that studies the effects and causes of depression. Concurrently, there are numerous support groups that deal with this condition and provide services to the affected population. Depression is often confused with other Dissociative Identity Disorders or DID’s and some of them are schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, multiple personality disorder etc.

The reason for this inability to accurately diagnose depression is because psychological disorders usually come in a spectrum of symptoms and the patients suffering from one type of disorder may experience other types of disorders as well. Whatever be the medical jargon used to characterize the spectrum of disorders that are linked to depression, it is apparent that this is one medical condition that needs timely and relevant treatment. This can take the form of simple counselling by the psychologist or can take the extreme instance of institutionalization at the other end.

A feeling of being depressed is linked to the dopamine and serotonin levels in the brain. Thus, the medications that seek to cure depression are often for regulating the activities of these two elements (Personality Research, 2009) COGNITIVE FACTORS The cognitive factors that are associated with depression include: Self Evaluation, Identification of Skill Deficits, Evaluation of life experiences, Self Talk, Automatic thoughts etc. Each of these factors is discussed in detail. A point to be noted here is that these are attributes of lack of learning skills and other factors associated with the process of cognition, or the process of knowing.

Depressed people evaluate themselves poorly. They attribute negative causes to their behaviours and describe themselves in negative terms. Instead of focusing on the positive aspects of their mistakes or failures, they tend to take an overly pessimistic view of the situation and fall into a loop of negative behaviour and exhibit negative traits. Another cognitive factor is that people suffering from depression identify themselves and their social skills rather accurately. For instance, it is not uncommon for them to say that “they are poor at a certain task” and this may be true.

What makes it difficult is that they do not try to get over this assessment and fall into the trap of repeating the negative behaviour. While assessment may be spot on, what is needed is a way of combating it as well. Another set of cognitive factors are self talk and automatic thoughts. While the former may not be “talking to oneself” literally, it means that there is a constant “chatter” that goes on in the mind of a depressed person that may at times be automatic and he or she may be unable to control such thoughts.

The point here is that depressed people may not be able to control what they think with the resultant loss of will power and the desire to excel (Schwartz, 2009). BIOLOGICAL FACTORS There are a set of biological factors that contribute to depression. Some of them are: Genetic Factors, Biochemical factors, Hormonal alterations and sleep abnormalities. First, the genetic factors. As the saying goes, “Madness tends to run in families”. Though this is a rather crude way of putting it, it is nonetheless a somewhat apt description of the genetic factors behind depression.

Studies have shown that identical twins are at a greater risk to suffer from depression than any other group of people. Further, if either the paternal or the maternal side of the family has had cases of psychological disorder, there is a greater likelihood that it would manifest in the children. Recent research has tended to concentrate on the biochemical make up of the brain and its causes for people to get depressed. There are certain neurotransmitter deficiencies or abnormalities that are thought to cause depression.

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