*My name
is Tiffany
*My major
is Biology with an emphasis on Pre-dental medicine
*My favorite
thing about college is being able to set my own boundaries
*My favorite
foods are Lemons and Grapefruits
*My favorite
quotation is "Sadness is beautiful, loneliness is tragic…"
*My favorite
bands are silverchair, Bush, Disturbed, and anybody I see live in concert
*What
I am most proud of are all of my accomplishments up to this point no
matter how small or trivial they may seem to others.
*What
I would like my life to be like 10 years from today: I'll be two years
out of dentistry school. Hopefully I'll be in the process of starting
my own practice in Pittsburgh, but no matter what I'll be living a happy,
fulfilled life.
Depression
can be looked at from many directions. Two such ways are from the biological
view or the psychological view. The main focus of this paper will be
from the biological side.
The symptoms of mental illness creep over you like a cold damp fog.
The number of people at probable risk of depression is climbing, up
from 5.2 percent in 1994/95 to 7.1 percent in 2000/01 (Hawaleshka, 38).
One particular subject, Sarah Hamid started feeling the symptoms of
depression at age 18. Sarah got to the point where she was sleeping
12-16 hours a day and crying uncontrollably. "It got to the point
where I was driving home one day and I really wanted to drive the car
over the yellow line into oncoming traffic." That is when Sarah
knew it was time to seek help.
The biological side of depression takes the approach of centering on
the study of the brain. The brain is made up of a complex network of
nerve cells which are called neurons. It is also made of brain chemicals
called neurotransmitters. Just as the name says, the neurotransmitters
transmit messages from one neuron to another. Two specific neurotransmitters,
norepinephrine and serotonin, are not produced in sufficient quantities
in a depressed person's brain. It is thought that because of the lack
of chemicals, too few messages get transmitted between neurons and depressive
symptoms occur (Nestler, 1).
New technology allows researchers to take pictures of the brain that
show activity levels in the brain. These imagining techniques, such
as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (f-MRI) and Positron Emission
Tomography (PET), scan the brain. The scans create images which show
the amount of activity in different parts of the brain. Some studies
with these kinds of techniques have suggested that the patterns of activation
in the brains of depressed people are different than those who are not.
These tests can help doctors and researchers lean more about depression
and other mental illnesses (Nestler, 2).
Failure to recognize and treat depressive disorder leaves the patient
to suffer and to become a costly user of health care services. Depression
that is not treated significantly increases the risk of mortality. Depressive
disorders can also be linked to patients with Parkinson's disease, Dementia,
or Alzheimer's disease. Treatment of the depressive disorder may enable
the patient to achieve better functioning in activities, daily living;
possibly to a degree that placement in a nursing facility may be delayed
or avoided (McCahill, 1).
Sarah Hamid got lucky in her case, because she knew she needed assistance
with depression and seeked help for it. Her doctor diagnosed severe
depression and Sarah now takes an effective anti-depressant (Hawaleshka,
38). The symptoms of depression may never go away, Sarah still experiences
crying fits every few months or so, but I'm sure she's a lot happier
and her depression is slowly fading away.
Works Cited
Hawaleshka,
Danylo. "Trouble Spots." Maclearis Health Report. 2 October
2002: 38-42
McCahill,
Margaret. "Screening for depression." American Family Physician.
15 September 2002: 1-3.
Nestler,
E.J. "What is Depression?: Biological Cause." Depression Clinic.
http://www1.depressionclinic.com/db/PageReq?SessionID=72759475.