Both stress and depression independently are difficult emotional health issues that affect thousands of South Asians worldwide ever year. Current research is now attempting to find a link between these two widely common experiences and why some people with chronic stress develop depression when others done. While much more research has yet to be done on this connection, especially in South Asians, the findings so far are astounding and have serious implications for healthy living long-term.
Most importantly, there is a bi-directional link between stress and depression. It seems that it is unclear whether one causes the other and is more likely that one perpetuates the other in a vicious cycle. There seem to be both biological, as well as psychological factors that affect the development of depression after stressful situations.
It is known that biological abnormalities in the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA) have a large role in the development, persistence and recurrence of depression. It is believed that people with these biological abnormalities react to stressful situations or chronic stress by exhibiting behaviors and experiencing emotions related to depression and anxiety. It is also believed that people with these abnormalities have a weakened axis to begin with. Chronic stress results in excessive secretions of cortisol (a stress hormone) which in large doses for extended periods of time can result in permanent neuron damage or death in the brain. This significantly increases the risk of developing depression.
It is also believed that people with these physical abnormalities are also more sensitive to stress and their bodies react much more strongly. This indicates that their bodies experience far more trauma with less stress than people without these abnormalities. Similarly, research is indicating that people who experience chronic and prolonged stress and have high levels of cortisol in their blood are more susceptible to depression when faced with a stressful situation.
While it is not 100% genetic, there is a moderate genetic component to developing depression. Research is also indicating that if a person has the gene for depression and is presented with high stress situations, they are much more likely to develop the disorder than if they did not have the gene. Essentially, it is believed that genetic factors of depression affect how sensitive people are to stressful situations and are more likely to develop depression.
Psychologists and neurologists have also concluded that significant stress early in life is predictive of adolescent and adult depression. Sources of childhood stress can include a
– stressful pregnancy (thus stressing the fetus in utero)
– stressful or complicated labor and delivery
– child abuse or neglect
– high levels of pressure to achieve academic success
– unrealistic expectations placed on the child socially, academically and emotionally
– death of a parent
– unhealthy marriage in parents or divorce
– exposure to family violence
– living with a parent who has emotional health issues
– living with a parent who abuses drugs or alcohol
Mental health professionals and researchers are finding that with high levels of stress exposure at an early age makes the brain much more sensitive to stress. Essentially, it seems that after a trauma or chronic stress as a child, it takes the brain less stress to experience a depressive episode as an adolescent or adult; the threshold at which stress predicts depression is lowered after experiencing high levels of stress as a child.
People with negative attribution styles tend to believe that negative events were caused by them, that one mistake made by them will create numerous other negative events and that negative things happen all the time. They tend to mistake positive events (such as getting a good grade on an exam) as flukes and unlikely to happen again but negative events as caused by them and likely to happen often.
Specifically adolescents with a negative attributional style are more likely to develop depression, especially if the teenager is experiencing high levels of stress. Attributional styles are most often learned by watching their parents so it is likely their mother or father also tend to believe the same things.
In addition, for children, teens and adults, low self-esteem, feelings of worthlessness, and low value are less likely to engage in many meaningful interpersonal relationships. They are more likely to have less friends and social support which can exacerbate stressful situations and thus increase the risk of developing depression.
Ultimately, the connection between stress and depression is a complex one. But simply put, if a child, teenager or adult is experiencing chronic stress, they are at high risk for developing depression and for experiencing further chronic stress. This is especially true if there is a family history of depression. For South Asians, who often do not acknowledge emotional health symptoms, assessing family history can be difficult. However, just as it is important to know whether your parents had diabetes or high cholesterol, it is crucial to know if they experienced depression so that you can change your lifestyle accordingly. Living a lower stress life, for example, can be a preventative measure for depression as well as heart disease, both illnesses that can severely affect a person’s health.
The good news is, stress is something that can be controlled and easily managed by good modeling and healthy parenting as well as increased self-awareness about stress triggers. In addition, even if depression occurs, it is one of the most easily treated emotional health issues. By addressing these topics early on, living a healthy lifestyle and receiving treatment on time, South Asians can be far more healthy and prevent further complications such as heart disease and diabetes that are highly associated with stress and depression.
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