Mental Health
Why Depression Has More to Do with Addictions and Less with Economic Conditions
Lower the risk of depressive disorders by addressing addictive behavior in a timely and efficient way.
After briefly introducing depression affecting 280 million people globally, I explain the critical role of addictions in major depressive disorders with takeaway points to lower the chance of addictive behaviors.
Most of us experience depression, at least in a small amount, in some parts of our lives. For example, I experienced mild depression and the feeling of anhedonia due to chronic stress and restrictive diets in my younger years.
So, different types and levels of depression, from mild to severe and acute to chronic, occur at various stages of life due to internal and external causes.
Major depression or major depressive disorder (MDD) is also known as clinical depression. Other types are dysthymia (persistent depressive disorder [PDD]), bipolar, perinatal, postpartum, premenstrual, seasonal, and psychotic.
Depression is an extensive and complex topic. Therefore, I only look at its impact and implications at a high level in this article.
Firstly, depression symptoms usually manifest in persistent emotions such as sadness, anxiety, irritation, dissatisfaction, and despair.
These feelings affect our mood. Therefore, depression is considered a mood disorder. It is a medical condition preventing people from functioning as desired.
If people chronically feel sad, anxious, hopeless, and apathetic (uninterested), they most likely have some depressive causes. Usual mood swings due to daily stress are not considered depression.
There are various factors causing depression. For example, the common causes are abnormalities of neurotransmitters, medical conditions (e.g., cancers, dementia, or diabetes), trauma, chronic stress, chronic inflammation, hormonal imbalance, medications, personality problems, and genetics.
In addition to healthy lifestyle habits practiced by individuals, depression is treated by qualified healthcare professionals such as psychiatrists and neurologists via counseling, medication, behavioral changes, and brain stimulation.
My observations and reviews show that brain chemistry is the most common cause. Therefore, I only focus on this aspect as the primary motivation for this article.
Why does depression matter?
Depression, unfortunately, can make life difficult to live and even meaningless to continue. Thus, it reduces the quality of life and even causes losing one’s life. In addition to one’s own unhappiness, it might also make loved ones unhappy.
Furthermore, as it is widespread globally, it substantially increases healthcare costs. For example, major depressive disorder is estimated to cost around $210.5 billion yearly in the United States.
“Approximately 280 million people in the world have depression,” according to World Health Organization (WHO). Interestingly, as a developed country, the US is among the top three most affected countries by major depressive disorders,
The shocking news, since 2005, depression has significantly risen globally. 700,000+ people die due to suicide every year, mainly caused by depression. Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death in 15–29-year-olds, according to WHO.
A recent systemic review in the Lancet states:
“This pandemic has created an increased urgency to strengthen mental health systems in most countries. Mitigation strategies could incorporate ways to promote mental well-being and target determinants of poor mental health, and interventions to treat those with a mental disorder. Taking no action to address the burden of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders should not be an option.”
These findings in the literature and disappointing observations in my circles are why I wrote this article for awareness. I might be wrong, but I perceive addiction as the leading culprit and the elephant in the room.
Why Depression Is Less About Economics but More About Addiction
First of all, this article is an opinion piece based on my years of reviews, observations, and experience with depression. This is not a scientific paper. My goal is to highlight the importance of addiction for anxiety and depression, going hand in hand with common mental health conditions.
Secondly, I have no claim my opinions are accurate or absolute. My aim is to create awareness and encourage readers to look at addiction issues more closely as a risk reduction factor for anxiety and depressive disorders.
I have no other motivation than these altruistic purposes to contribute to the well-being of people. Thus, I invite readers to read my points within this context and have an open mind.
I mention economic conditions in this article’s title because some people associate depression with financial difficulties and inequalities globally. Coming from a low-income family initially, I have empathy and compassion for people suffering from economic challenges.
However, on a personal level and from observations in my circles, I have not experienced economic difficulties as the primary cause of depression. On the contrary, paradoxically, economic challenges made me and many people more motivated and less depressed.
For example, I witnessed impoverished people living their lives joyfully and with contentment and wealthy people suffering from depression. There will, of course, always be exceptions.
When I reviewed the populations, there was no clear pattern that developing countries have more depressed people. For example, according to this source, the top three most depressive countries are China, India, and the US. And the less are Samoa, Laos, and Nepal.
So my point is that the economic profile of the top three countries with more depressed people is much higher than the bottom three. Therefore, I see less association between depression and the economy from a causal aspect.
However, the economy can improve the recovery from the condition with a better healthcare system and care factors advanced by the economy. Nevertheless, the primary focus of this piece is on the causes of depression.
I have no economic expertise, so my thoughts are only based on what I read in the literature and press. However, I have years of experience with the human brain and mind, especially with the effects of addiction on the cognitive part of the brain.
Over the few decades, I noticed a significant relationship between addiction and depressive disorders. As mentioned in the introductory section, one of the root causes of depression is the brain’s biochemistry.
Even though multiple neurotransmitters play a role in depression, the pivotal one is dopamine, causing imbalances of other important ones, such as serotonin and GABA.
One clear pattern attracts my attention when we look at the noticeable increase in the depression rate between 2005 and now. It is the emergence of more addictive substances, tools, and processes.
For example, Social Media platforms started rising after 2005. Mobile phones have also become more widespread and affordable. In addition, access to addictive food like sugar and sugary drinks increased thanks to online shopping available 24/7.
Significant evidence indicates that social media, Internet, online games, online shopping, and sugar-containing foods are addictive. I also observed the addictive behavior of these items in my circles, including friends and family members. Younger people are more prone to these risks.
How does addiction cause depression?
Addiction and depression are two highly complex conditions that are impossible to cover in a short article.
However, at the highest level, the reward and punishment systems constitute the architecture of addiction, leading to anxiety and depressive disorders. This is well documented in the body of knowledge.
As I explained the punishment pathways in an article titled Awareness of Punishment Pathways in the Brain for Mental Health, I won’t repeat the details.
In summary, my years of research in the field indicate that maladaptive punishment processes lead to addictions, anxiety, depression, and psychopathy. Mental health professionals are working to create therapeutic solutions around this observation in the literature.
The critical finding in the literature is the epigenetic aspect of addiction in the neural system. As it is a complex and comprehensive topic, I documented my findings and summarized them in an article titled What DeltaFosB Is and Why It Matters in Solving Addiction Problems.
From my experience, understanding the concept of DeltaFosB (ΔFosB) is crucial to gaining clarity on addictive behavior leading to anxiety and depression in the brain due to epigenetic reasons. As I already posted the article, I don’t want to repeat the details.
However, in summary, ΔFosB represents a vital mechanism by which addictive substances or behavior produce long-lasting biochemical neuronal changes in the brain that contribute to addiction. It is a potent molecular switch leading to consequences such as happiness or suffering.
As we know, stimulants give dopamine hits. The brain maintains the records of dopamine spikes using ΔFosB by increasing them with each impact. So, the constant release of dopamine to the neurons can desensitize them. As a result, the brain needs more dopamine-producing stimulants (e.g., drugs) to make the same effect.
The chemical intensity and durability of ΔFosB are very potent. For example, each time the bar is raised, it stays around ten days before lowering. It is not like other epigenetic switches that happen in hours or minutes.
With constant dopamine release, this epigenetic switch moves from one operating mode to another, creating a baseline. The frequent release of dopamine in increasing amounts of ΔFosB makes the baseline higher notch by notch.
In short, the disproportional release of dopamine causes the problem with the ΔFosB level leading to addictive behavior. Illegal drugs, nicotine, alcohol, sugar, porn, and gambling are well-known contributors to the disproportional release of dopamine.
People who are depressed exhibit these common addictive behaviors, from my observations and reviews. For example, most heavy drug users become addicted to substances and experience major depression afterward.
Final Thoughts and Takeaways
I firmly believe that addictive behaviors, when unresolved and delayed, lead to anxiety and depression. Even though economic conditions might have some implications for the emergence of depressive behavior, addictive behavior seems to play a more prominent role.
Therefore, I raise awareness of the adverse effects of addictions on our mental health, particularly in the formation of anxiety and depression. The role of brain chemistry, especially the dopamine system, is well documented in the literature.
The key takeaway of this article is to watch our addictive behavior and address them timely with healthy lifestyle habits and seeking support from qualified healthcare professionals and loved ones.
Unless we reduce our addictions caused by drugs, nicotine, alcohol, sugar, porn, social media, and gambling manifesting as the disproportional release of dopamine in the brain, the risks of having anxiety and depression look very high to me.
I hope my points in this article might provide you with a valuable perspective on reducing the risks of anxiety and depression by addressing addictions timely and effective.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
I hope you enjoy these two inspiring stories of Georgia and Judy.
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Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
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