Is Depression A Genetic Trait?

(Newswire.net — July 13, 2015) Steyning, West Sussex — 

It has recently been reported in the UK Independent that according to scientists who have published their findings in the journal ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,’ children could inherit over-active brain circuits, responsible for linking three parts of the brain, which could make them more prone to anxiety and depressive disorders. The study is based on experiments carried out on almost 600 young rhesus monkeys, which concludes that around 35% of variation in anxiety-like tendencies could be explained by family history.

 

During the research carried out, scientists used brain imaging to measure behavior related to anxiety, and with the data provided were able to pinpoint the brain systems responsible for transmitting anxiety from parent to child. Scientists were able to confirm that three regions of the brain located in the brain stem; the amygdala, the limbic brain fear center, and the prefrontal cortex, were in fact linked to hereditary mental illness.

Chair of psychiatry at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, Ned Kalin, said during the press meeting: “Over-activity of the three brain regions in question, are inherited brain alterations, and directly linked to developing anxiety and depression as we age. We actually believe that to a certain extent, anxiety may provide an evolutionary advantage, as it helps a person to recognize and avoid danger, but problems arise when the circuits become over-active, resulting in anxiety and depressive disorders.”

 

But not everyone would appear to agree with these findings. In a blog post seen on the “A Bug Free Mind” website, author Andy Shaw is quoted as saying that depression is just a choice. He adds: “A few obvious bits first, I mean a conscious person would not choose to be depressed as that would be bad for their well being. So obviously their actions are not the actions of a sane conscious person, as depression makes people temporarily insane at best.”

 

According to Andy, depression is simply a choice, He adds: “There may be some chemical changes going on inside the body too, but they tend to be brought about because of the thoughts in your mind, creating the worst scenario, and not because they existed before the thoughts. So at the end of the day, depression is a choice and you can choose how you feel about things. You can choose to feel happy or sad. Yes! Happiness is a choice too, and so is sadness.”

 

Andy concludes his professional opinion by inviting people to go deeper and learn more about removing other self inflicted ailments like fear, stress, anxiety, and worry too. He adds: “I take those problems apart as well as going deeper into dealing with depression in “Creating A Bug Free Mind.” In the first five chapters of my book, I share some techniques which provide the power to silence the mind and take back control, freely available at abugfreemind.com.”

 

 

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 Image from onestock photos