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The biology of depression is the attempt to identify a biochemical origin of depression, as opposed to theories that emphasize psychological or situational causes. Scientific studies have found that different brain areas show altered activity in humans with major depressive disorder (MDD) . [ 1 ]
Collective mental state is generally a literary or legal term, mostly used in sociology and philosophy (in addition to its singular use in psychiatry and psychology), to refer to the condition of someone's being-state when around others.
Social rank theory provides an evolutionary paradigm that locates affiliative and ranking structures at the core of many psychological disorders.In this context, displays of submission signal to dominant individuals that subordinate group members are not a threat to their rank within the social hierarchy.
Depression, chronic stress, bipolar disorder, etc. are considered mood disorders. It has been suggested that such disorders result from chemical imbalances in the brain's neurotransmitters , however some research challenges this hypothesis.
Sadness is a common experience in childhood. Sometimes, sadness can lead to depression. Some families may have a (conscious or unconscious) rule that sadness is "not allowed", [3] but Robin Skynner has suggested that this may cause problems, arguing that with sadness "screened off", people can become shallow and manic.
For instance, certain African languages have one word for both anger and sadness, and others for shame and fear. There is ethnographic evidence that even challenges the universality of the category "emotions" because certain cultures lack a specific word relating to the English word "emotions".
Low levels of positive affect in the Tripartite Model characterize depression. [13] [18] Signs of low positive affect include fatigue, loneliness, sadness, and lethargy. [13] Positive affect is important because it is a construct used in order to differentiate depression from anxiety. [1] [20]
One way depression increases the individual's focus on a problem is by inducing rumination. Depression activates the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, which increases attention control and maintains problem-related information in an "active, accessible state" referred to as "working memory", or WM. As a result, depressed individuals have ...