Stress and depression are increasingly prevalent in society. A recent discovery has highlighted what causes them.
Stress and depression are long overdue the ills of our society. In recent years, in fact, cases have increased significantly, especially among the youngest. In particular following the Covid pandemic, which has left its mark on everyone’s daily life. Recently the experiment of a team of researchers has highlighted the causes of these disorders: negative thoughts are of fundamental importance.
Discovered the cause of stress and depression: the results of the recent survey – grantennistoscana.it
When we talk about stress, we are referring to a response from both the brain and the body to stimuli that are perceived as particularly alarming, risky or burdensome. The term was first used in 1936, when neuroendocrinologist Hans Salye defined the disorder as a finding “of the body to each request made on it”.
Turning, however, to depression, it is a real one pathology related to psychiatry. It has nothing to do with the purely emotional side and is not to be confused with “simple” sadness. This disease manifests itself with symptoms that can affect both the psyche and the body, with very specific physical signals.
Stress and depression, what are they due to?
Over the years, numerous studies and surveys have been carried out on psychiatric pathologies such as depression and stress. However, it is not so immediate to be able to identify the triggering factors. They can range from genetic elements to social causes, from traumas that could negatively affect an individual’s life to the use of certain drugs or substances, up to the presence of previous diseases.
Stress and depression: what are the triggers? – grantennistoscana.it
In the case of stress, in a similar way to what happens with anxiety, we speak of a psycho-physical response which, as explained by Selye, can be divided into three precise phases. The first is that of “alarm”, ie when the individual perceives a sense of overwhelm in front of some tasks or specific situations. Then comes the “resistance” phase, which is based on adapting to new challenges.
Finally, there is the “exhaustion” phase, in which all forms of defense are abandoned and the typical signs of stress (including headaches, dizziness, loss of appetite, excessive sweating and difficulty falling asleep) begin to appear. The situation becomes critical when stress becomes chronic and, therefore, exposure to the stimulus extends over the long term.
Depression, for its part, it could be determined by very painful events. As stated at the beginning of the article, it does not only concern the sphere of emotions. On the one hand, in fact, it is characterized by the strong malaise experienced by those who suffer from it, the loss of the desire to engage in activities, low self-esteem and difficulty in concentrating. On the other hand, however, the pathology can lead to tachycardia, muscle pain and headaches.
The experiment of the researchers of the Karolinska Institutet
In recent times stress and depression – along with anxiety – have found widespread use, especially affecting the younger generation. The fact of living in an increasingly frenetic society, which requires impeccable performance, with constant pressure and a sense of insecurity towards the future, certainly has a negative influence on people’s well-being.
Anxiety and depression: two increasingly widespread phenomena – grantennistoscana.it
Furthermore, despite the important steps forward in terms of mental health, it is still difficult for many to be able to speak openly about their difficulties, without ending up being stigmatized. In the face of similar disorders, the best solution in any case is to consult a psychologist and rely on a therapeutic path. In the most serious cases, it is also possible to evaluate the intake of psychotropic drugs, but only if prescribed by an expert.
The recent investigation carried out by the team of scholars of the Karolinska Institutet University of Stockholm (published by the journal Nature Neurosceince) has highlighted new and interesting aspects of these pathologies, emphasizing the centrality of a group of neurons in the manifestation of negative thoughtsrelated to chronic stress and depression.
The researchers based themselves on an animal model and went on to map the cells of the nervous system. They resorted to very advanced tools such as the Patch-seq, which allowed them to keep under control the neuronal pathway of the brain, starting from the hypothalamus and arriving at the habenula, so as to be able to study the behavior and reactions of the animals after that these have been let into a room.
The results of the investigation
During the experiment, the animals in which the pathway was activated immediately showed the tendency not to want to enter the room, although there were no specific reasons to have such a fear. Furthermore, the scholars have noticed how the neurons connected to negative thoughts and responsible for disorders such as chronic stress are in turn linked to estrogen receptors. This means that they respond to this hormone.
The importance of neurons responsible for negative thoughts – grantennistoscana.it
Which would explain why i female subjects have a greater sensitivity to stress. In the animals – which during the course of the investigation faced unpredictable situations of slight tension – the response of the female specimens lasted longer than the male ones.
The experiment’s senior author, Konstantinos Meletis, gave some thoughts on the outcomes. For the moment, the way in which the neurons responsible for negative thoughts and the consequent chronic stress are activated is not yet clear. How we reason, however, plays a central role. Every day we produce thousands and thousands of thoughts: according to research by psychologists at the University of Queen’s, there would be an average of 6,200.
These manage to shape the vision we have of reality. “If we can understand how negative signals are created in the brain, we may also find mechanisms underlying affective diseases such as depression” Meletis explained. In this way, it will be possible to work on the realization of new drugs that can treat diseases in unprecedented ways.