Free Essay on Effects of Depression on Our Bodies

From the research, we found out that Depression is a disorder that involves three components; the body, our mood, and thoughts (Castro-Rodrigues & Oliveira-Maia, 2013). Its effects can be felt when people eat, sleep, and, think. However, Mood swings and passing blue moods are not necessarily the effects of depression. Additionally, according to Sferra et al. (2014), we established that depression is not a condition that victims have control over as it is impersonal. Further, we found that the disorder can be classified into major depressive, dysthymic, and bipolar. All these depressive disorders have certain effects on the body of the victim that are not safe for health and normal development.

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Afterwards, it was our realization that depressed people can have a lot of or lack appetite. As a result, they can starve or eat too much food which in normal circumstances might be uncharacteristic of them. Eating a lot of food leads to weight gain which might eventually make people obese (Sferra et al., 2014). Therefore, they might develop obesity related diseases such as diabetes. On the other hand, starving can lead to malnutrition. Additionally, we found out that stomachaches, constipation, and extreme cases of cramps are all effects of depression. Further, there exists a very close relationship between depression and stress. As such, stress hormones can affect the speed at which the heart functions. On the same note, the hormones can tighten blood vessels leading to a prolonged state of emergency. Eventually, this can lead to diseases related to the heart such as heart attack, pain at the chest or in extreme cases a stroke. In this regard cardiovascular problems are mostly contributed to by depression. Finally, we established that death is the ultimate effect of depression when the effects like stroke cannot be controlled

From the observations that we made on people who had depression, it was evident that their bodies looked weak and fatigued. These observations led to the conclusion that depression can lead to loss of body energy. Additionally, the fatigue that was visible from how they talked and walked meant that they had spent a considerable amount of energy on negative things. Instead of the otherwise energetic body that healthy people are supposed to have, depressed people look tired and exhausted. The explanation for this is that the mind is engaged in a lot of thinking which in turn uses a lot of energy which could be used in building the body. Further, restlessness is another effect that depression has on the body of the victim. From the study, we observed that depressed people look very irritable despite the absence of any aspect that could provoke them. Moreover,, their skin looked darker than their normal one.

On the relationship between immunity and depression, we found out that the more people are depressed, the more their immunity weakens. As such, individuals become susceptible to a variety of diseases. It is due to the fact depression weakens the immune systems of the body. When we persons depressed, the chances of contracting an infection are very high due to weak immune system. To our surprise from the study, depression in children is very dangerous if not treated in time. According to Perera (2008), depression can take a toll on their body strengths and studies. Additionally, repetitive headaches and other chronic body aches are all effects of depression. Although most people think that depression is a state of the mind, we found out that it affects the functioning of the body.

There were several questions that were answered by our research. After finding out that depression weakens the immune system, we pondered why other people who are not depressed still have weak immune system. Additionally, we were concerned on why there is a difference between depression and stress when the two seems one and the same thing. Furthermore, we wondered why children feel depressed when they actually have little or nothing to be stressed about.

To determine why other non-depressed people also have a weak immune system, we will conduct an analysis of two patients one with depression and another without. From the two, we will examine the various other disorders so that we can rule out any external cause. Afterwards, their depression levels will be examined to ascertain their stage of depression. Later, we will compare their immune system and establish whether the immunity is as a result of the depression or other extraneous causes. At the end of the exercise, we shall establish why people who do not have depression might also have the same characteristics as those having the disorder. Specifically, our aim would be to establish whether the effects are a result of the depressive disorder or something different. On the difference between stress and depression, we will consult an expert to extrapolate the point at which stress turns into depression. The expert will specifically state how stress turns into depression and how one can prevent it from graduating into the same. In so doing, we will get a better understanding of how depressed people can reverse their situation. To establish why children feel depressed, we will deploy an introversion scale with few questions on the issues that might affect the children. These questions will be open ended and simple for the children of tender age to comprehend. Additionally, we will help them in answering the questions by explaining to them any questions that will be difficult for them to understand. In so doing, we will be able to establish why children have cases of depression despite their tender age.

In conclusion, depression is a condition that not only affects the mind but also the body and the moods of an individual. Some of the effects of depression are obesity and malnutrition. These are caused by the failure of the victim to eat or excessive appetite. From the research, we established that severe depression can even lead to death. Additionally, children who have depression perform poorly in class due to lack of concentration. However, we had several unanswered questions from the research. For instance, the point and which stress transforms to depression was a concept we could not comprehend. Additionally, the causes of severe depression in children of a tender age were a scenario we did not get to unmask from our research. As such, we will conduct case study of two people; one with and the other without depression. This will help us understand whether the effects aforementioned are from depression or something else. Additionally, we will seek the opinion of experts to determine the point at which stress leads to depression. Finally, we will conduct an introversion scale for children to enable us understand why children experience severe depression disorders.

References

Castro-Rodrigues, P., & Oliveira-Maia, A. (2013). Exploring the effects of depression and treatment of depression in reinforcement learning. Frontiers In Integrative Neuroscience, 7. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2013.00072

Perera, H. (2008). Depression in children and adolescents. Ceylon Med. J., 53(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/cmj.v53i2.238

Sferra, M., Herrick, A., Lange, K., Thamotharan, S., & Fields, S. (2014). The effects of the interaction between body weight and depression on adolescent and emerging adult alcohol use. Drug And Alcohol Dependence, 140, e203-e204. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.02.567