Mental health professionals tend to approach their subject from one of two quite different perspectives. Some regard mental health problems as a biological disorder or malfunction. This is the approach that is emphasized within medical models of illness, and by psychiatrists. Psychologists are more likely to look at the psychosocial and cognitive factors. So where does that leave the ‘chemical imbalance’ theory of depression?

Mind: Body Relationships and Chemical Imbalance

We are beginning to understand the ways in which the mind and body are interdependent. The consensus today is that stress and emotions can induce the biochemical changes that can be measured in depressive illness. More rarely it can work the other way round, with physical illness resulting in depressed mood.

Often it is hard to separate the two. Stress or poor diet causes us to become run down and renders us more vulnerable to physical illness. Physical illness is itself frequently a cause of stress, and so a feedback situation arises. Most experts agree that depressive illness is a two-way street.

Various diseases and conditions are thought to trigger depression in certain individuals. Depression is associated with various diseases of the nervous system and the endocrine system, for example. It can also be triggered by infections, such as glandular fever.

What Chemicals Are Implicated in Depressive Illness?

Whichever approach is adopted, there is no doubt that biochemistry is a very real factor in depressive illness and that drug treatments that alter body chemistry can be effective. Attention has focused on hormones and neurotransmitters called monoamines.

The best-known neurotransmitter linked to depression is serotonin. Low serotonin levels are linked to depressed mood, poor appetite and sleep and other bodily functions. The stress hormone norepinephrine is another. Drugs that prevent re-uptake of these neurotransmitters increase their levels in the body and are fundamental to medical management of depression, usually together with psychological therapies.

An alteration in brain chemistry is involved in depression. Returning that imbalance to normal plays an important role in treatment.

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