Module 2 Discussions Assignment: Stress and the Human Body

Stress and the Human Body
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Stress and the Human Body
Depression is a mood disorder that affects nearly 10% of men and 25% of women for at least once in their lives (Glibert, 2014). There are two types of clinical depression; unipolar and bipolar depressions. Unipolar depression consists primary of depressive states while bipolar depression involves fluctuation between states of depression and mania (Brown and Harris, 2012). Depression comprises some of the following symptoms; guiltiness, feelings of sadness, worthlessness, attempts of suicide, energy loss, and insomnia or hypersomnia (Hayley, Skogen, Sivertsen, Wold, Berk, Pasco, & Øverland, 2014). These symptoms are somewhat understood, but the causes of depression remain to be a mystery.
When somebody is under depression, the amygdala, an area that contributes to the emotional processing, sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus part. The hypothalamus functions as the command center of the body that communicates with the rest of the body through the nervous system. Therefore, the amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex parts of the body are associated with depression (Krishnadas & Cavanagh, 2012).
Neurotransmitters are chemicals in the brain that are bound to the receptors to excite or inhibit the firing of neurons. Neropinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine are some of the neurotransmitters that are associated with depression. The substance that is produced by serotonin in the brain is lower in depressed patients than the nondepressed patients. This is the same with dopamine (Leonard, 2014).
The spinal cord, pituitary glands, and adrenal glands are some of the regions that become activated in response to stress Krishnadas & Cavanagh, 2012). Stress leads to decreased hormones such as cortisol which is a stress hormone, serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitters that are linked to depression. These chemicals are responsible for regulating some of the biological processes like energy, sex, appetite, sleep, and for expressions such as moods and emotions. When the body system fails to respond to stress, it can lead to depression (Roley, Kawakami, Baker, Hurtado, Chin, & Hovey, 2014).
References
Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. (Eds.). (2012). Social origins of depression: A study of psychiatricdisorder in women. Routledge.