Posts Tagged ‘Genetic Factors’
Depression: Is It In Your Genes?
The discovery of genes has radically changed our view of how the human body – including the mind – functions, or in some cases, malfunctions. We also know that having a gene that scientists have linked to a particular a physical or mental condition isn’t the end of the world and genes don’t simply determine our lives and health.
Genes are like switches and they don’t switch themselves on and off. They need a trigger to activate them. Having a particular gene may predispose someone in a particular direction but often that is all it is. In relation to depression, though there may be genetic factors involved, to think of it as a genetic disease or disorder is premature, and in many cases, unhelpful, since it falsely implies that one’s fate is pre-ordained.
Genes and Depression
There is no such thing as a depression gene; many genetic conditions are the result of whole sets of genes, which are activated in certain environmental and life circumstances. However, there is something in the gene theory of depression. Studies of families, especially twins, suggest that depression may have some genetic roots, though which genes are involved remains unknown.
A candidate gene is one known to regulate serotonin, a chemical neurotransmitter involved in mood. People with it may be more susceptible to depression, but whether that will happen depends on a variety of interlocking factors.
Regardless of genetic makeup, anyone can become depressed if the circumstances are right (or rather, wrong). Sadness and despair can be normal reactions to hard times and the medical profession has been criticized for ‘medicalizing’ ordinary human unhappiness and prescribing unnecessary drugs. However, when depression is deep and enduring, sufferers can benefit from medical help.
If someone has a history of depression in their family that may usefully alert them to a possible genetic vulnerability. Swapping our supposed mental health genes is not currently an option, so sufferers concentrate on practical steps to management and recovery.
