What happens to the Brain when Depression appears
When you suffer from depression, your brain physically changes. A study by the National Institute of Health showed that you can lose grey matter, the hippocampus shrinks, the thalamus shrinks, and the frontal cortex and the prefrontal cortex all shrink.
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What is Grey Matter?
Grey Matter helps with neuron connection. These connections help with memory, emotions, and control movements.
Image Provided by Chegg
When depression appears, it releases a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is what helps the brain shrink over time.
While those areas shrink, the amygdala enlarges, which controls emotions. The amygdala is in charge of life, telling the body when it needs to be in fear of a life-threatening stimulus and processing the fear. This is why you may struggle with sleeping; your emotions might be taking over more, which can cause a lack of sleep, in turn, cause a hormone imbalance because of the lack of sleep.
Image provided by Harvard Health.
*Please note this is a SIMPLE explanation of what happens to the brain when depression appears. If you or someone you know is struggling with depression, contact your primary care doctor. Followed by contacting a trained Mental Health Provider to help you or someone you know to support them on their journey.*
For more information and more detail, click the link below:
Transformative Treatment Center
Resources:
Gray Matter of the brain. (n.d.). Grey Matter of the Brain. Retrieved April 5, 2023, from https://www.chegg.com/learn/topic/gray-matter-of-brain.
The Brain . (n.d.). The Brain. Retrieved April 5, 2023, from https://www.seevividly.com/info/Physiology_of_Vision/The_Brain.
Understanding the stress response. (2020). Harvard Health Publishing: Harvard Medical School. Retrieved April 5, 2023, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response.
What happens to the brain during Depression - Transformations Center. Transformations Treatment Center. (2021, April 14). Retrieved April 5, 2023, from https://www.transformationstreatment.center/treatment/what-happens-to-the-brain-during-depression/
