The Science Behind Depression: How It Affects Your Brain

Depression is one of the most common mental health conditions in the world. As such, many people have a basic idea of what it is and what it can look like. However, there is more to this mental health condition than you might realize.

Depression isn’t just “extreme sadness” that someone can turn on and off. The condition has a direct impact on your brain, which can make it difficult to overcome without the right kind of help.

Understanding the science behind depression and how it affects your brain can help you make sense of your symptoms. More importantly, it can serve as the motivation you need to seek out professional help.

A Change in Brain Structure

Depression can have a direct impact on the way your brain works and its overall structure. For starters, some studies have suggested that depression can lead to a decrease in gray matter. Gray matter is responsible for sensory regulation and information processing.

Areas of the brain that are most heavily impacted by depression include the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex. Depression can cause the hippocampus to shrink, leading to memory and learning issues. It can lead to emotional dysregulation by contributing to an overactive amygdala. Finally, it can make it difficult to process information and make decisions with the way it affects the prefrontal cortex. Obviously, these changes can be frustrating and even a bit scary until you understand the gravity of what you’re dealing with.

Imbalances in the Brain

Not only does depression change the way your brain functions, but it can also cause neurotransmitter imbalances that perpetuate negative, hopeless thoughts.

For example, changes in serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain affect everything from mood and motivation to feelings of sadness. When these are imbalanced, it can make the symptoms of depression much worse and cause extreme sadness.

Unfortunately, again, things are cyclical. The worse your depression becomes, the more likely it is for your neurotransmitters to be off balance. The more off-balance they are, the harder it can be to overcome the problems they’re creating within the mind.

Disrupted Connections

Studies have shown that chronic depression can lead to “noisy” communication between nerve cells. Imagine you’re trying to have a conversation with someone, and you can’t quite hear them or keep getting distracted because of blaring music washing over you.

Noisy communication can disrupt mood regulation and, again, make the symptoms of depression feel even heavier. It can make you more susceptible to mood swings and cause the weight of your depression to feel even heavier in certain situations, simply because your mind isn’t able to properly regulate your emotional responses.

What Can You Do?

The good news is that the changes in your brain caused by depression don’t have to be permanent. It’s possible to heal with the right treatment. Treatment will help restore brain function while improving your symptoms.

The better news is that depression is often very treatable. However, it’s not something you have to tackle on your own. Self-care practices can help. Things like getting enough sleep, staying physically active, and being around people who lift you up, rather than isolating yourself, can all make symptom management easier.

However, getting to the root of your depression and working from the ground up is often the best way to fight back against it. Working with a depression counselor makes that possible and helps to remind you that you aren’t fighting alone. Counseling will give you greater inside into where your depression stems from while helping you with symptom management.

If you’re interested in learning more about how counseling can help improve your depression or you have any other questions, contact me today for a consultation.