What Causes Depression? – It’s Not Just A Chemical Imbalance
The traditional way we approached the cause and treatment of depression is to see it as a chemical imbalance. That is you have in sufficient amounts of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine and low levels of these brain chemicals are what is causing your depression. We treat the depression by replenishing these chemicals using medications that help your brain cells or neurons either produce more of the chemicals or stop the chemicals from being broken down after they are produced so that they hang around a little longer. This is the concept behind the SSRIs or serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
Now we see that the reason the neurotransmitters are low is because of disrupted neural circuits in the brain. It’s related to the concept of neuroplasticity. In this case with depression, you get negative neuroplasticity. In this video, I discuss how neuroplasticity (or the lack of it) contributes to depression. We have a long way to go and getting depression to resolve with medication and using medications that have minimal side effects. This new way of conceptualizing depression has an impact on the new medications that are being developed and the psychotherapies we use to treat depression.
Videos Referenced in this video
Treatment Resistant Depression https://youtu.be/2z5krS51pNg
References
André RB, Lopes M, Fregni F. A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical studies on major depression and BDNF levels: implications for the role of neuroplasticity in depression, Int. Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology (2008), 11, 1169–1180.
Serafini G. Neuroplasticity and major depression, the role of modern antidepressant drugs. World J Psychiatry. 2012;2(3):49-57.
Duman CH, Duman RS. Spine synapse remodeling in the pathophysiology and treatment of depression. Neurosci Lett. 2015;601:20-9.
Kang HJ, Voleti B, Hajszan T, et al. Decreased expression of synapse-related genes and loss of synapses in major depressive disorder. Nat Med. 2012;18(9):1413-7.
Rush AJ, et al. Acute and Longer-Term Outcomes in Depressed Outpatients Requiring One or Several Treatment Steps: A STAR*D Report Am J Psychiatry. 2006;163:1905-1917.
Yang CC, Barrós-Loscertales A, Pinazo D, et al. State and training effects of mindfulness meditation on brain networks reflect neuronal mechanisms of its antidepressant effect. Neural Plast. 2016;2016:9504642.
Disclaimer: All of the information on this channel is for educational purposes and not intended to be specific/personal medical advice from me to you. Watching the videos or getting answers to comments/question, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship. If you have your own doctor, perhaps these videos can help prepare you for your discussion with your doctor.
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30 Comments
Also, each one of us has different metabolisms that also play a role in treatment. Genesight has helped my family get on the medications that work with their own individual metabolisms. Genetics play a role in treatment. Thanks Tracy for making your videos simple to understand. You are a great asset to the mental health world 🌎
Part of it is. Its proven by scans of brains… mental illness… neurotransmiters.. etc. Dopamine etc. So people need to wake up. Its a real real illness.
So what kind of medication heals the wound? This was recorded five years ago.
I’m sorry but “what causes depression “ is a stupid question. If you’re not depressed after looking around for a bit then maybe you’re something else and you should seek mental help. Watch the news, read history…there are obvious reasons why we’re depressed and ITS NORMAL. A person in a mental hospital might start feeling mental over time, that’s society. High rent and those in power who are so out of touch with reality…any time we try to change things nothing happens…they just gaslight us and make us feel like we’re the one destroying this planet..all the greed is killing us (and other personal things too of course). It’s all connected, you doctors can ignore the facts all you want but Su*cide will continue because nobody really wants to care, nobody who’s in power anyway. Life is sad, all we can do is just try to deal with it the safest best ways that we can…music helps.
(I’m a little rough here because I’ve had doctors just ignore the issues around me and instead make it all my issues, like this world is perfect or something. To be fair though, I’ve had depression most of my life since childhood.)
I have anxiety and depression due to trying to figure out how to live as a disabled person among other events in my childhood. For years i could never understand or rap my head around depression being a chemical imbalance. But now that i've watched this video and looked at it through the lens of neuroplasticity It all started to make sense. I've tried medication for years and never had much of an efect. Now with an amazing therapist and strong friendships my depression has improved significantly and some of my neurons have started to get along with each other. I still have a long way to go but i'm proud of my progress and i'm hopeful that future treatments for depression will improve. One thing that has always helped me recently is to take things one at a time and not think too far ahead, and reminding myself and realizing there's a deeper part of me that's positive and that i can contribute to the world in a positive way and make a positive impact.
How about bad life situations causing depression? Isn't that the bigger problem?
Psychosis under control depression still there
They really know nothing about it
it was never a case of Chemical imbalance thats BS !!!
I have Anhedonia now due to the continuous emotional physical and physiological abuse that has been done to me by who use to be viewed as dad. but emotionally he has been disowned. once a long time ago I was genuinely a happy kid growing up until I started to want to become independent but when one learns the sad and horrible truth that your parents don't want you to grow up and thus continue to try to live your life for you , that does a lot of harmful damage to one's self esteem don't ya think? even at a young age your mother takes you aside and dares to tell you at a young age now , she says before we go into the SS office (( I want you to act stupid )) but I told her NO ! because I am not stupid. but to no avail. so Is depression a chemical imbalance? absolutely NOT !!!!!!!. but if anyone wants to believe that it is than oh well. they do not know how to think for themselves. nothing personal. Trust is a dangerous game. that I refuse to play anymore.
There must be a holistic way to treat depression.
Also go to a chiropractor and have your C1 the highest vertebra in your neck corrected. It connects to the brain.
like to refresh my distracted mind. good!
Severe Stress and Abuse is the cause of depression. It's obvious.
Why then, did I read that there was no research and money going into depression by scientists? Or, was that just Big Pharma?
Pls suggest method to overcome depression, social disconnect, confine to home, muteness, age 19 years female, pls guide alternate method and medication.
Thank you so much for this channel! Its helping learn about more updated treatments. I'm able to communicate my needs to my care team in a more knowledgeable way & Confident manner. Its helping me work through past trauma and learn skills to help me be the person i want to be. Thank you!
This is one of the worst psychiatrists I ever heard. “Mental illness and Self improvement “???? In the same breath. She is saying people who suffer are bad The self is bad. The self must be improved on. I think this is total psychobabble and they have been faking it baffling us with bullshit with these theories and concepts about circuits and machinery of your brain. Neuropasticiry. We we we. we know this. We know that. We. We are so smart. Ya. So smart that they are disrupting circuits. Meddling in brains. Who wants it. ??? This is like a complicated McDonalds ice cream machine made all complicated so you’ll think it takes one of them in the we club to help you when in fact these people are full of hubris and trust in themselves way too much. They invent these “ disorders “ and vote them into existence like Frankenstein. Trans gender. Need I say one more word ? Ok. I will. The Sacklers ? How about more ? Lobotomy won the Nobel prize ? Do you want more ? Ok. Sure. Opiate crisis ? More ? Post SSRI sexual dysfunction ? Have you had enough ? MK Ultra I got more : spinning chairs. ECT. The zyprexa papers Diagnostic inflation. Pills and drugs. The Loren Mosher 1:21 resignation letter. Dr Karl Menningers Mea Culpa letter of Oct 1988 to Dr Thomas Szasz. With response. If I was Trump and RFK Jr I’d tell them this. You’re all fired ! You peolke are drugging the hell out of America and we are sick of it. And if you. You and you’re “ we know this we know that “. You’ve never known a thing. Do you want more evidence ? Dr Money at Johns Hopkins university. Or how about Dr Henry Cotton well respected weirdo who removed his own teeth and his wife’s teeth to provehow delusional he was. He was one of those “ we know this and that “ weirdos too. Here’s a fun fact. : Research shows kindness is good for your mental health. So is money. I’ll keep mine. These people are Insane according to their own criteria. The “ side “ effects of their pills are a perfect description of what they themselves call “ symptoms “ which mesns they think we are stupid and the truth is. We are. Most people take these people’s word. So ya. We are. Stupid.
This is old news. To any person who doesn’t make money selling mental heath by force
That concept is way before 2000. The decade of the brain was 1990s. The decade of massive Ginny pigs was the 1980s
Perfect. I am coming across the concept of neuroplasticity as a cause for depression for the first time.
What a great video – this really is helpful for me! Is there an online way to find out what progress has been made in this area? Thanks!
If not a chemical imbalance it then is likely an energy imbalance. Bad doings will cause depression. relation: energy -> chemical imbalance/s 🪖🪖📗📗🧠🧠👁👁🔬🔬⚡⚡
The food we digest like meats can cause depression cause your taking on the energy of that animal before it dies! Like fear and depression it's energy but to be more clear its spirits! God sad I haven't given you the SPIRIT of FEAR! I've GIVING YOU PEACE , LOVE AND A SOUND MIND 🧠👁️
If this is the case why is it so common during early childhood and puberty? What's the connection?
Well medication worked ASAP for me
Whats the new medication then that closes the wound and not just stops the blood
Being in a constant mode of stress ,pressure and overwhelming days owning and operating a small business, never having any down time magnifies depression a thousand times .
I madly love her
I have yet to see a study thats testable snd repeatable over and over that shows that depression caused by low serotin if anyones got any send them in the comments
Mam tqs for the information