The Psychology of Depression: Brain Function and Societal Impacts

This essay delves into the multifaceted nature of depression, exploring its causes, psychological effects, and the crucial role of brain function. The paper examines depression as both a medical and psychological disorder, highlighting its prevalence and impact on individuals' lives, including loss of interest, sadness, and changes in behavior. It discusses the symptoms of depression, such as sleep disturbances, decision-making difficulties, and feelings of worthlessness, emphasizing the impact on brain function. The essay references various studies and theories, including the role of cortisol hormones and the hippocampus. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of seeking proper medication and counseling to address the negative impacts of depression on both the mind and body. The essay also mentions Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and its impact on daily activities, including the potential for suicidal thoughts, and highlights the need for awareness and treatment. The essay also provides information on the number of people suffering from depression in the US and the methods of treatment.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1: PSYCHOLOGY
Depression is one of the most crucial factors behind the psychological developments in
the human mind. The role of brain is also very significant in this type of psychological behavior.
The reasons and the impacts are of immense significance in the society to understand how it has
catered to the loss of confidence and other factors. The functioning of the brain is also quite
significant at the times of depression (Stoppard, 2014). The reasons and outcomes of the
depression will be discussed in the following paper along with the different functions of the
brain. It is regarded as one of the most stressful disorders in the psychological behavior.
The depression is regarded as both medical and psychological disorder in the society and
it has become a common illness for the most of the people in the society. Various issues must be
considered as the reasons of depression. During the times of depression, the brain functions
somewhat differently indeed. These functions are definitely of high importance in all sorts.
Through depression, human beings lose their interest in all the things that they once enjoyed with
much happiness. They also become sad and do not like to focus on anything because of their
miserable mental conditions (Stoppard, 2014). As a result of this behavioral disorder, the
approaches and attitudes towards various things might change for the human beings. Many types
of disabilities can be seen among the human beings since they develop various types of
emotional and physical problems.
According to the critics of psychology, there are several symptoms that can be seen in the
human beings when he might be going through serious depression. It is definitely one kind of
behavioral disorder and brain does not function properly and people are confused in their works
and are incapable of focusing on anything at home or at work (Gilbert, 2016). Some people also
develop the habit of sleeping at the odd hours. People are not also able to think properly or take
the decisions at difficult times. These things generally do not happen when the functioning of the

2: PSYCHOLOGY
brain is accurate. They too feel guilty or worthless at different points of time and they suffer
from excess amount of fatigue during these times (Carr & Finnegan, 2015).
Critics have revealed the fact that the behaviorism of the human beings is an inseparable
part of the human psychology and research science. Many critics have developed their theories
on this issue. On the other hand, some critics have opined that these human behaviors generally
have anything to do with these things like the internal conflicts among the human beings and
developing challenges of representing the objects (Gilbert, 2016). In the latest studies,
researchers of the human behaviors have stressed on the issues that brain suffers due to the
depression in the human minds. In the words of the critics, depression is a mental situation where
people are unable to get any kind of positive response from the things that they love to do or they
fascinate. This makes them grieved and they go into a state of sadness and think their lives to be
very much tragic (Proyer et al., 2014).
This kind of depression can be among any person of any age. This is why it is very
crucial to know that the behavioral experts around the world would be able to determine the
various reasons for depression among the common people. Even if a child has to move to a new
house with his family by leaving aside his old playmates at his old place, he will feel depressed
in the initial days. He will not be able to make friends with the new people and feel completely
stranded. Critics feel that the human beings should be able to develop some social skills if they
want to keep a distance from these incidents (Proyer et al., 2014). It is commonly called as the
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and it can leave long lasting negative impressions on the
brain. Therefore, it is only important to treat this disorder very seriously since it might lead to the
fatalities of brain in the near future indeed (Goodmon et al., 2016).

3: PSYCHOLOGY
The experts of behavioral science have found that the symptoms of MDD might cause
harm on the daily activities of the human beings like their school, workplace and social
periphery. This might cause mood swings among the human individuals and they will become
more stressed at everything (Hankin et al., 2015). The tendency of suicide might also come in
their minds also. Therefore, these people should be aware of these issues causing problems in
their minds. The feeling of hopelessness and worthlessness will lead them to take abrupt steps
that could cause challenges in their survival. The
Depression and Biploar Support Alliance has
published their findings in this discourse that reveals the fact over 14 million people of the
United States over 18 years of age are suffering from this syndrome. This is equal to 6.5% of the
total US population (Hollon & Dimidjian, 2014).
The critics of psychology have said that there are various ways in the recent times that
depression can be treated. The doctors and the psychological experts believe that the
psychological counseling and anti-depression medications can cure this illness among the
individuals of all ages (Hankin et al., 2015). It is critical that hippocampus is at the central part
of the brain that stores all the memories of the human individuals through producing the cortisol
hormones (Dimidjian et al., 2014). If excessive amount of cortisol is sent to the brain, it might
cause the problems of brain.
On a concluding note, it must be highlighted that the depression is a very impactful
problem on both body and mind. Unfortunately, this impact is purely negative. It tends to harm
the overall functions of the brain. Therefore, the situation must be controlled by proper
medication and going through counseling period. The root causes of the depression must be
found out to make sure this depression is cured. Otherwise, it will create severe problems in the
future for individuals.

4: PSYCHOLOGY
References
Carr, A., & Finnegan, L. (2015). The Say ‘Yes’ to Life (SYTL) program: a positive psychology
group intervention for depression. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 45(2), 109-
118.
Dimidjian, S., Martell, C. R., Herman-Dunn, R., & Hubley, S. (2014). Behavioral activation for
depression.
Gilbert, P. (2016). Depression: The evolution of powerlessness. Routledge.
Goodmon, L. B., Middleditch, A. M., Childs, B., & Pietrasiuk, S. E. (2016). Positive psychology
course and its relationship to well-being, depression, and stress. Teaching of
Psychology, 43(3), 232-237.
Hankin, B. L., Young, J. F., Abela, J. R., Smolen, A., Jenness, J. L., Gulley, L. D., ... &
Oppenheimer, C. W. (2015). Depression from childhood into late adolescence: influence
of gender, development, genetic susceptibility, and peer stress. Journal of abnormal
psychology, 124(4), 803.
Hollon, S. D., & Dimidjian, S. (2014). Cognitive and behavioral treatment of depression.
Proyer, R. T., Gander, F., Wellenzohn, S., & Ruch, W. (2014). Positive psychology interventions
in people aged 50–79 years: long-term effects of placebo-controlled online interventions
on well-being and depression. Aging & Mental Health, 18(8), 997-1005.
Stoppard, J. (2014). Understanding depression: Feminist social constructionist approaches.
Routledge.

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