Micah Ahr

Cristy Trotter

21 March 2021

CCP English 1201

How does depression affect a person’s everyday life?

Depression affects many people throughout the world. People can become depressed for

many different reasons. Sometimes, those reasons may be unexplained. When people are

depressed they feel as if they have no one there for them, that they are alone facing the deadly

creature that is their mind. In the case of the Covid-19 pandemic and quarantining, depression

has increased dramatically. The pandemic has caused many people, especially teenagers, to

become so enclosed within themselves that they tend to shut down and eventually develop very

bad depression. There are many ways people deal with depression, whether it be in healthy ways,

or unfortunately for most people, in unhealthy ways.

Depression goes way back to the Mesopotamia period. Here, “depression was discussed

as a spiritual rather than a physical condition” (The History of Depression). Many cultures

believed that depression, along with many other mental illnesses were caused by demons and

dealt with by priests rather than physicians. This belief lived in many cultures and was treated

with certain methods that are sometimes still used today: beatings, physical restraint, and

starvation. Later in the Common Era, one Persian doctor recommended baths as a healthy

treatment when he saw mental illnesses coming from the brain. Although this was positive, most

treatments were still very unhealthy, as most people, especially Catholics, believed depression

came from demons. “Exorcisms, drowning, and burning were popular treatments of the time”

(The History of Depression). Years later, in 1621, a man by the name of Robert Burton wrote a
book where he stated the social and psychological causes of depression, along with mentioning

healthier ways to cope.

The symptoms for depression are endless from just feeling sad to having suicidal

thoughts. As mentioned in Western Washington Medical Group’s article titled, Depression And

Its Mental And Physical Effects, “Depression is different than occasional or situational sadness.

… Individuals suffering from depression may become reclusive and uninterested in activities that

typically bring them pleasure. They have overwhelming feelings of sadness, guilt, or

hopelessness, and chronic fatigue that lead them to push friends and family away” (WWMG).

The article lists nine common symptoms of depression: “frequently crying, overwhelming

feelings of attachment, thoughts of suicide, inability to concentrate, paralyzing indecision,

feeling unmotivated, loss of sex drive, unexplainable aches and pains, and feelings or fatique and

low energy”(WWMG). These symptoms are common in many people, whether they show it or

not.

Along with the symptoms of depression, there are many causes as well. In an article by

WebMD, the authors mention many causes of depression. For example: abuse, age, certain

medications, conflict, death, gender, genes, major events, personal problems, serious illnesses,

and substance misuse. All of these play a role in how one may develop depression or further the

negative effects of depression. Researchers believe that people suffering from depression have a

smaller hippocampus and as a result, fewer serotonin (a neurotransmitter associated with

processing of emotions) receptors. However, scientists do not know why the hippocampus is

smaller in individuals who have been diagnosed with depression. “As scientists gain a better

understanding of the causes of depression, health professionals will be able to make better

‘tailored’ diagnoses and, in turn, prescribe more effective treatment plans” (WebMD).
 People who have symptoms of depression may experience substance abuse and effects on

the body physically, such as one’s digestive and cardiovascular/immune system. According to

the article by Western Washington Medical Group (WWMG), depression can cause a “loss of

appetite or malnutrition, weight changes or fluctuations, overeating, or stomachaches, cramps or

constipation”(WWMG). The stress hormones caused by mental stress“make blood vessels

tighten and put the body into a stressful state of emergency” (WWMG). This is harmful to the

cardiovascular system and could eventually lead to heart disease. If stress hormones are constant,

they can lead to a compromised immune system making it harder for the body to fight diseases.

Sleep disorders, specifically sleep onset insomnia (difficulty falling asleep) and sleep

maintenance insomnia (difficulty staying asleep) are common in many depressed patients.

Memory loss occurs when “the flow of blood to the brain is constricted because the body doesn’t

make memory a priority” (WWMG). Because of this, it is harder for depressed patients to think

clearly or completely focus.

Depression is a very serious illness, however, there are many misconceptions. According

to Michigan Medicine, there are many myths regarding depression. “‘Depression isn’t real; It’s

something in your head’ (UofMHealth).” Depression is, in fact, very real, as it is a disease in the

brain. No one thing really causes depression, but there are many things that can trigger the

depressive state. “‘Treatment doesn’t really work; Children cannot get depression’

(UofMHealth).” Without treatment, depression can last for months or even years. One who may

be depressed may not want to get help because they don’t feel as if they could trust their therapist

in that they can really help them get the help they need. Depression doesn’t have an age, gender,

or race and can happen at any time in one’s life no matter who they are, how old they are, what

they look like or how economically successful they may or may not be. One last misconception
is, “Depression only happens if something bad happens to you”(UofMHealth). This is a big one

because although depression could start after something bad happens to someone, there are many

other factors that come into play, such as a misuse of drugs and alcohol, childbirth, and hormone

problems. Even with these factors, there are certain times where depression simply happens for

no clear reason with no explanation.

With Covid-19 occurring in the past year, many people have developed depression. As

stated in USA Today, “Call volume at NAMI’s HelpLine is up 65% compared with last year, …

averaging more than 200 calls a day” (USA Today). This is a very dramatic increase most likely

due to the social isolation and change in day-to-day activities.

Managing depression is difficult for the sufferer and unfortunately results in unhealthy

ways of coping. When people are depressed, as a form of trying to make themselves feel better,

they will hurt others physically or mentally to try to get others to understand the pain they are

feeling. Oftentimes, however, one will end up hurting themselves so they don’t have to worry

others and they just act like everything is fine, when in reality, it’s not.
 Works Cited

Aspegren, E. (2020, August 10). 'Feels like the world is against You': Young people
struggle with Finding mental health support amid COVID-19 pandemic. Retrieved March
22, 2021, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/08/08/covid-19-support-
youth-programs-describe-anxiety-depression-increase/5429213002/

Causes of depression: Genetics, illness, abuse, and more. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2021,
from https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/causes-depression

Myths and facts about depression. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2021, from
https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/ug4843

Schimelpfening, N. (n.d.). When were the earliest accounts of depression? Retrieved

Staff, W. (2020, October 22). What is depression & how does it affect your well-being:
Wwmg. Retrieved March 22, 2021, from https://www.wwmedgroup.com/blog/depression/