An essay on depression
...icotropic hormone (Lickey and Gordon, 1991). Genetics is thought to be behind all of these factors and therefore is likely to have an overall effect on the likelihood of an individual suffering from depressive disorders. For example, people whose immediate relatives suffer from manic depression have a higher incidence of suffering from it themselves. However it would be a mistake to look at depression as a purely medical disorder. In almost all cases, there is a problem in the environment causing the depression at a macroscopic level. If a person bases too much of their self-esteem on one achievement, for example, it will be more likely for that person to suffer depression if that achievement comes under threat. In the mid 20th Century, when psychoactive drugs such as Valium and Librium were first being used to treat depression, doctors would hand them out left, right and centre with little regard for the effects. These “minor tranquilizers” affect the central nervous system in a similar way to alcohol or barbiturates and are habit-forming and addictive (Breggin, 1994). They were given to just about anyone who complained of even mild depression, thus causing many more problems than they solved. The main problem involved in using psychoactive drugs is that it is merely a short-term solution and does not combat the environmental and psychological causes. Nowadays, depression is usually treated using a combination of drugs and psychological therapy in otder for the patient to overcome the environmental problems as well as the medical manifestation of them. However, in cases of severe depression, drastic action may be taken. ECT, or Electro-Convulsive Therapy, is used in cases of extreme depression and involves literally zapping the depression out of patients. This carries serious side-effects such as temporary confusion and memory loss. Even more disturbing is that, despite its widespread use, no one really understands fully how ECT actually works (Bernstein et al., 2000). It was originally designed as a last-ditch treatment for schizophrenia, but it was discovered to be far more successful as a treatment for depression. It has, therefore, attracted a lot of criticism for being a potentially dangerous procedure, discovered by accident, and with very little scientific understanding behind it. The long term effects are yet to be fully understood. A similarly controversial treatment is the use of psychosurgery. Lobotomy is probably the most well known, and infamous, of these procedures. Essentially, the operation consists of removing the offending part of the brain by sending in a probe and burning it out. It is used in cases of extremely severe depression and bipolar disorders (and sometimes in cases of schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorders) and carries with it side-effects such as severe epilepsy, overemotionality and, in some cases, a listless, zombie-like state (Bernstein et al. 2000). Psychosurgery is probably the most notorious of all psychological treatments and, like Electro-Convulsive Therapy, its mechanisms are still largely a mystery. It is seen as an archaic practice, and although things have moved on considerably since its early use, it is still a very dangerous and “touch and go” procedure. In less extreme cases, psychotherapy is used m...