Research by the National Institutes of Health shows that you lose gray matter volume (GMV) when you suffer from depression. This loss is caused by parts of your brain shrinking due to the hormone cortisol impeding the growth of your brain cells. The more serious depression a person suffers, the more GMV they lose.
Research suggests that depression doesn't spring from simply having too much or too little of certain brain chemicals. Rather, there are many possible causes of depression, including faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, and stressful life events.
According to an fMRI study, decreased brain activity in the hippocampus was reported82 in depressive patients. Reduced gray matter volume and reduced functional activity in the hippocampus would lead to negative emotion and the inability of cognitive processing in depressive patients.
Depressive symptoms include anhedonia, lack of self-worth, anergy, poor concentration, changes in appetite, along with motor changes, recurrent thoughts of death, all based on dysfunction of the neural network.
Depression affects more than just emotion and mood. It can also change the way your brain functions. The potential cognitive changes from depression include executive dysfunction, impaired learning and memory, reduced attention and concentration, and lower processing speed. Treatment is available to help.
Everyone experiences cognitive distortions at some point or another, but these automatic thoughts and beliefs — which are often negative — are typically related to depressed mood. If you're being bombarded with thoughts like “I'm no good” or “I'll never be loved,” it will be hard to focus on the positive.
Depression doesn't just get in the way of being happy. It can also interrupt your ability to think. It hampers your attention, memory and decision-making abilities. You may find that your executive functions are limited, so you begin having trouble seeing your way through issues.
Duration of the depressive episodes is highly variable and, although most people recover in one or two years, approximately 15% present a chronic course. This chronic course is related to other mental disorders such as personality disorders, anxiety disorders or substance use.
According to the Mayo Clinic, patients with untreated long-term depression are more prone to sleep disruptions, heart disease, weight gain or loss, weakened immune systems, and physical pain.
The main subcortical limbic brain regions implicated in depression are the amygdala, hippocampus, and the dorsomedial thalamus. Both structural and functional abnormalities in these areas have been found in depression.
People with clinical depression often have increased levels of monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A), an enzyme that breaks down key neurotransmitters, resulting in very low levels of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.
There's no single cause of depression. It can occur for a variety of reasons and it has many different triggers. For some people, an upsetting or stressful life event, such as bereavement, divorce, illness, redundancy and job or money worries, can be the cause. Different causes can often combine to trigger depression.
The brain is a highly adaptable organ, and most individuals can expect their brain chemistry to return to its normal state over time after stopping antidepressants.
Engage in activities that make you happy or feel relaxed. This is thought to increase dopamine levels. Some examples include exercise, meditation, yoga, massage, playing with a pet, walking in nature or reading a book.
Causes of brain fog
Some studies show that depression can reduce cognitive functions, including our working memory, long-term memory, and ability to focus. When we're forgetful or having trouble making decisions, we're more likely to suffer from that feeling of brain fog.
It's one of the most common and most treatable mental health disorders. With early, continuous treatment, people can gain control of their symptoms, feel better, and get back to enjoying their lives. There are effective treatments for depression, including medications (such as antidepressants), along with talk therapy.
When you add positive intent to your actions, you empower yourself to rewire your brain in a way that can reduce your symptoms of depression. A hypnotherapist will help you do this in sessions and give you ideas of things you can do every day at home to continually improve your quality of life.
Depression is correlated with atrophy of neurons in the cortical and limbic brain regions that control mood and emotion. Antidepressant therapy can exhibit effects on neuroplasticity and reverse the neuroanatomical changes found in depressed patients.
Untreated depressive episodes in major depressive disorder can last from 6 to 12 months. About two-thirds of the individuals with MDD contemplate suicide, and about 10 to 15 percent commit suicide.
Although depression may occur only once during your life, people typically have multiple episodes. During these episodes, symptoms occur most of the day, nearly every day and may include: Feelings of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness or hopelessness. Angry outbursts, irritability or frustration, even over small matters.
Such atrophy is centered in a brain region called the hippocampus. This structure plays a critical role in learning and memory, and the magnitude of the hippocampal volume loss (nearly 20% in some reports; refs. 2–4) helps explain some well-documented cognitive deficits that accompany major depression.
Overthinking is a symptom of many different mental health issues – primarily generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Many people who are depressed also experience symptoms of anxiety, and vice versa. This means lots of people with depression may overthink situations.
Depressive realism is a psychological hypothesis that asserts that depressed individuals may be more accurate in their assessments of certain situations. This belief is in contrast to what is known as “optimistic bias,” in which some people may see the world in a more positive light when things are going wrong.
One study found a two-way relationship between overthinking and stress. Hafeez calls it a “chicken-and-egg” situation: High levels of stress, anxiety, and depression can contribute to overthinking. Meanwhile, overthinking may be associated with increased stress, anxiety, and depression.