Factors inducing depression as effective tool in therapy

Depression being a psychological disorder is known to cause morbidity and mortality of the concerned individual globally. According to an estimate from the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 57 million people equivalent to about 18% of the global population are suffering from depression in India. There are several known factors responsible for inducing depression in humans such as abusing drugs and alcohol, overwork, poor diet, using excess caffeine or sugar, lack of exercise, poor sleep, sexual abuse, genetic disorders, sadness, physical health issue, brain chemistry imbalance, lack of confidence, rejection/loneliness, loss of loved one etc. According to an epidemiological data, 30~40% of occurrences of depressive disorder involve genetic factors. Consequently, environmental factors also play significant role in development of depression. Studies have shown that cognitive therapy is as efficacious as antidepressant medications in treating depression which is believed to reduce the risk of relapse even after its discontinuation. Cognitive therapy and antidepressant medication probably engage some similar neural mechanisms, as well as mechanisms that are distinctive to each. Extensive research is therefore needed to delineate the population suffering from a specific kind of factor inducing depression which may help develop adequate therapy to treat the patients quickly and effectively.