• Question: why do certain people get depression?

    Asked by georgieebabiee to Andrew, Janey P, Kinda, Ravi, SarahJane on 21 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Andrew Manches

      Andrew Manches answered on 21 Jun 2013:

      We all get a bit sad every now and again. Depression as you put, is when you are very sad or sad over time such that it affects your life seriously. There are different ways to look at depression. You can look at how certain chemicals e.g. serotonin are low that affect your brain. Or you can look at what is happening in that person’s life – have they lost someone special or being bullied at work / school. Typically it is best to consider both aspects – what’s happening in that person’s life and how that is affecting their brains. That is why helping somebody with severe depression can involve helping them deal with what’s sad in their life, and in some circumstances providing medical drugs to help.

    • Photo: Sarah-Jane Walsh

      Sarah-Jane Walsh answered on 27 Jun 2013:

      Recently scientists have discovered a genetic link for some forms of depression. A region on chromosome 3 (called 3p25-26) has been studied in families with recurrent depression and found to have similarities which may have been inherited. However this doesn’t mean that all depression is inherited. there are many different types. But for some people it may be that they can be genetically predisposed.

      This is the original study if you wanted to have a look http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21572164
      Quite complex science, it was also covered in newspapers, http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/hope-for-depression-sufferers-as-study-links-illness-to-genes-2284656.html
      But you cant always trust the papers 100%, for the real facts its important to go to the original source! Misreporting in papers happens everyday usually due to a lack of scientific understanding by the writers!

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