History On Depression

Several things people normally inherit from their parents like the color of their hair and eyes, their skin tone, even their height. People inherit these traits because they carry forward genes and these genes make up their DNA. People also unfortunately the same way inherit predisposition to certain diseases and even mental illness. Researches and scientists have recently shown that depression could actually be inherited. It simply means that if someone in the family is suffering from clinical depression, then there is a very high probability that the next generation too could become depressed.

Many years before scientists did not really know where depression actually came from. The surrounding environment was always identified as the primary suspect as the reason of depression in general, but more recent studies show a strong evidence that clinical depression such as depressive disorder, manic depression and dysthymia is actually caused by chemical imbalances, the predisposition to which is inherited.

The results of present studies show that if people do have a parent, an uncle, a brother or a sister who is suffering or has suffered from clinical depression, they have 1.5 to 3 times more chances of developing the similar condition than someone who does not have such a condition within the family.

Recent studies have not really been successful in trying to narrow down the research to specify which gene actually causes clinical depression. Various studies have yielded various results. It was hypothesized that the genetic material may be different from one family to other, but this has never been proven to date. So there is no actual termination as to which gene is the culprit that causes clinical depression. But there is very little argument around the fact that clinical depression is hereditary. In fact it is nothing to be ashamed of; depression is so common condition that it affects more than 19 million Americans each year. Less than half of the people however, suffering from this mental disorder acknowledge it and seek treatment. If people or someone in their family may be experiencing depression, consult a psychiatrist immediately.

It is not rare for a family to have a history of clinical depression. There are a number of cases where an individual who is suffering from mental depression does not appear to have an actual reason for suffering the depression. This is where the family history of the sufferer can help them out. There are also some types of cases who appear to be genetically depressed, meaning that their family history shows that previous generations appear to have suffered the same problems. Genetic clinical depression is still far from being fully understood. Studies on this disorder are still being done in order to understand how genetic depression is passed down and how it can be treated in people before it becomes a real problem.

Having a family history of genetic depression does not necessarily mean that the person will suffer depression, though if a person does worry that they might have depression it might not hurt to consult a therapist or counselor about it. It is possible for a sufferer to be a little anxious over the idea that they might slump into a depression that can ruin their lives as it possibly did for their parent and/or grandparent.

• Matt Thompson
• 16/01/2009, 8:59 PM
• 0 Comments