1. Community
  2. Mental health
  3. Depression

Does anyone know

Posted , 6 users are following.

sue19918
sue19918

Please can anyone tell me if there is a type of depression that is the result of a che

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • sue19918
    sue19918

    Posted

    Sorry a chemical imbalance
    • RHGB
      RHGB sue19918

      Posted

      I would think so. i say this, not because of my knowledge of depression, but when I had a stroke 18 months ago and evntuallly came out of hospital, I had 8 prescriptione meds, still do to this day.

      They were horrible when I first started taking them at home (I'd had them in hospital as well). I would feel fatigued and go and have an afternoon nap, plus they would make me ratty and not very tolerant. I ended up taking them last thing at night, so I slept through the effects.

      I have always thought that they affected my chemical balance, and it took a good six months before my body was able to cope with them.

    • elizabeth2244
      elizabeth2244 sue19918

      Posted

      Yes depression could be a chemical imbalance for instance hypothyroidism that is low thyroid or hyperthyroidism that is high thyroid that can cause depression and anxieties anything that has to do with the imune system. Another way it can be chemichal inblance are the hormones. A ladies hormones flucuate durring menopause, that can cause depression and before a period and durring a period your hormones can flucuate causing depression to. Or if you have an infection that can cause depression so it can be chemichal related 

      You should have you thyroid checked even some one who is not getting proper vitamins that they need can cause depression. You should also have your vitamins checked like b12 or b6 and vitamin d and your iron these are the impotant ones and you should have your estrogen and progesterone levels checked to because if they are low that can cause depression . 

      Like i said get a blood test to see if your thyroid is low or high, get a blood test to see if you are low in vitamin b12, b6 and vitamin d and get a blood test to see if your estrogen andprogesterone is low all these can cause depression in women so i would get them checked out before you take anything good luck and i hope you feel better

  • hypercat
    hypercat sue19918

    Posted

    Hi I don't think this has been proved either way actually.   There can often be found a chemical inbalance in people with depression,  but whether that is the cause or the result of the illness no one really knows.  

    As far as I am aware this is still part of the nature/nurture debate.  x

  • rsteinbach90
    rsteinbach90 sue19918

    Posted

    An Introduction from a Harvard Medical School article:

    What Causes Depression

    It’s often said that depression results from a chemical imbalance, but that figure of speech doesn’t capture how complex the disease is. Research suggests that depression doesn’t spring from simply having too much or too little of certain brain chemicals. Rather, depression has many possible causes, including faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, stressful life events, medications, and medical problems. It’s believed that several of these forces interact to bring on depression.

    To be sure, chemicals are involved in this process, but it is not a simple matter of one chemical being too low and another too high. Rather, many chemicals are involved, working both inside and outside nerve cells. There are millions, even billions, of chemical reactions that make up the dynamic system that is responsible for your mood, perceptions, and how you experience life.

    With this level of complexity, you can see how two people might have similar symptoms of depression, but the problem on the inside, and therefore what treatments will work best, may be entirely different.

    Researchers have learned much about the biology of depression. They’ve identified genes that make individuals more vulnerable to low moods and influence how an individual responds to drug therapy. One day, these discoveries should lead to better, more individualized treatment (see “From the lab to your medicine cabinet”), but that is likely to be years away. And while researchers know more now than ever before about how the brain regulates mood, their understanding of the biology of depression is far from complete.

  • stevo1975
    stevo1975 sue19918

    Posted

    Hi Sue, this might explain better: There are many researchers who believe that an imbalance in serotonin levels may influence mood in a way that leads to depression. Possible problems include low brain cell production of serotonin, a lack of receptor sites able to receive the serotonin that is made, inability of serotonin to reach the receptor sites, or a shortage in tryptophan, the chemical from which serotonin is made. If any of these biochemical glitches occur, researchers believe it can lead to depression, as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, panic, and even excess anger. Hope that helps its from the medical journal. 
Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.