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Literature Review
Literature Review
Literature Review
Voight, Rebecca
English 1201
16 November 2021
Literature Review
When people think of the word, “depressed” people assume it is just the feeling of being
sad. Being depressed is a lot more than just feeling sad. It is a mental illness that can completely
control you and your body and mind. There is no time limit on when an individual will “stop”
being depressed. They could shake the feeling in a couple of days, weeks, or even months but,
depression never really goes away. It is like a dark cloud that creeps up on you throughout time
and keeps getting closer. Depression is a mental illness but, the question is, how does depression
develop in an individual?
20202, explains what the earlier years thought about what caused an individual to have
depression. Depression has been around for many years, and it is fascinating to know what others
thought about what caused depression before actual research was done. The article, The History
of Depression mentions, “A widespread belief among even educated Romans that depression and
other mental illnesses were caused by demons and by the anger of the gods.”. The article
continues by discussing what later Centuries thought about what caused depression in an
induvial.
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what depression is and what the symptoms are. The information being used from the CDC
websites gives the readers the knowledge of what depression is and how many people can be
affected by the mental illness. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) defines
depression “…as a sad mood lasting a long time and interferes with normal, everyday
functioning.”. The feeling of being depressed can be as simple as just feeling sad. The severity of
depression can overcome one’s thoughts, and the outcome could be suicidal intentions.
According to the CDC, “One out of every six adults will have depression at some time in their
life. Depression affects about sixteen million American adults every year.”. Depression does not
family problems, traumatic experiences, stress, addiction, etc. The point of this article is to
explain to readers that depression may not be genetic. This article provides examples from
seasonal depression to social depression. The article mentions, “Factors such as education,
religion, value systems, social conditions, behavioral patterns also play a significant role in
developing depression.”. The authors of this article did very well explaining how depression may
The article, Is Depression Genetic, written by Stephanie Faris and medically reviewed by
Vara Saripalli in April 2021, explains the causes of depression as a genetic, mental illness. This
article establishes the difference between how depression is developed, genetic, or just a random
disease one gets. The report states, “Major depressive disorder is more likely to be shared by
siblings and children.”. Of all the people with depression, 40% of those people can trace their
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depression to a genetic link. The other 60% is linked to environmental and other factors that
cause depression. This article gives the readers an understanding that depression can be
involuntary, and a person can just be born with depression just any other mental illness,
Lastly, the article Onset of Depression More Complex than a Brain Chemical Imbalance,
published by Harvard Health, discusses how combining genetic depression and environmental
depression affects the brain and body. The article mentions, “MDD (major depressive disorder)
can affect not only biological systems restricted to the brain but also pathophysiological
pathways within the entire body.” The article goes on to describe how depression develops in the
brain. The critical point is for readers to understand how the brain works when it comes to
The question again is, how does depression develop in an individual? There isn’t one
answer to this question because depression can be caused by genetics, or it can just develop on
its own throughout time from the effects of life. Depression can be a mental illness that a person
is born with, or depression can also be caused by traumatic events in life, stress, or social issues.
Depression is a mental illness that one may not be able to control, numerous signs show a person
Work Cited
Polish Journal of Public Health. June 2015, Vol. 125 Issue 2, p116-120.
https://eds-s-ebscohost-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/eds/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=eeb9e007-
6254-4753-94aa-576749e80b0a%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU
https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/genetic
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/depression-anxiety.html.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/what-causes-depression.
https://www.verywellmind.com/who-discovered-depression-1066770