Depression not governed by genes and environment is a major factor when it comes to being happy, claims new study

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Depression is not governed by genes, according to a new study that says our environment is a major factor when it comes to being happy and that nurture can override nature. Even when rats are bred to be a bit on the down side, they still cheer up after the rodent equivalent of psychotherapy. The study also found that rats bred for depression and rats that were depressed due to their environment showed changes in the levels of entirely different blood markers for depression. Being able to differentiate between the two types of depression could eventually lead to more precise treatment with medication or psychotherapy, US academics from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine said.

Their work, published on Tuesday in the Nature journal Translational Psychiatry, provides hope for people who think they might be naturally predisposed to depression due to family history and offers more hope sufferers can be treated. Rats used in the study had been bred for depression-like behaviour for 33 generations and showed extreme despair. “You don’t have people who are completely genetically predisposed to depression the way the rats were,” Eva Redei, a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, said. “If you can modify depression in these rats, you most certainly should be able to do it in humans.”


http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/depression-not-governed-by-genes-and-environment-is-a-major-factor-when-it-comes-to-being-happy-a6958686.html

eddie wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:

eddie wrote:Sometimes too, there is a subtle difference between feeling "blue" and being actually depressed.
Depression is classified as having no want to get up and do anything...everything seems to be an effort.

I've been in the latter category -- nearly had to repeat a year of high school, because I just stopped doing school work.

I mean this sincerely, I think that just sounds horrible Ben. I can't even comprehend how horrible that must be to feel like that.
Im bad enough when I feel a bit down, or worried, or stressed.

My brother used to be depressed ( he's much better now as he's not on meds and back working) but he used to have panic attacks. I asked him what feeling depressed was like once, and he said "For me it's like this....Imagine the worst thing in the world happening to you...see how that's makes your body feel? Well that's how I feel all the time"

I can tell you now when I did imagine "the worst thing in the world happening to me" my stomach hurt, my head pounded and my breathing was shallow. I felt sick.

I've never forgotten that

That's an apt description. I was just going through the usual teenage crap -- too much pressure to get into college, didn't think my friends really liked me, blah blah blah. The one thing I can say in favor of depression is that if you get through it, you feel like you can get through anything

I'd say that's very accurate as to what my brother also said now he's (semi) through the other side.

Stay well xx