Depression A Physical Allergic Reaction, Study Suggests
Depression is not just of the mind, but also of the body, according to a number of scientists. The reason could be an inflammation, the cause of which is part of the immune system that gets into action whenever the body suffers some injury, according to Time.com.
George Slavich, a clinical psychologist at the University of California in Los Angeles, has spent long years in the study of depression, and has come to the conclusion that it has as much to do with the body as the mind. "I don't even talk about it as a psychiatric condition any more," he says. "It does involve psychology, but it also involves equal parts of biology and physical health."
Most people feel down in the dumps after they are ill. Being dragged down by tiredness, boredom and inactivity, being unable to "get on with life" is also "sickness behavior". Nature's reason for the drag is to help people avoid spreading damage or infection.
Interestingly, the same symptoms are seen in depressed people. Hence, sickness as well as depression are both triggered by cytokines, according to scientists.
Hence, whenever a person falls ill, there is this group of proteins called cytokines that triggers the inflammation. This is the reason for people to feel 'low' whenever they fall ill. Hence, the brain may be tricked into falling into depression, through a process that is like an allergic reaction, according to The Guardian.com.
By studying the depression and devising some treatments, it is expected that in five to 10 years, there may be a blood test in order to assess inflammation in depressed people, so that they can be given proper treatment, says Carmine Pariante, a psychiatrist at Kings College London. Researchers have devised a simple finger-prick test that can measure inflammation markers in just one drop of blood.
It profits everyone to remember that depression is as much body-related as it is mind-related, and could be targeting just about anybody.
But just don't get depressed about that.
