Thoughts on Depression Part II

The brain, to me, is the most fascinating and unique part of the human body.    Like any other organ, things can go wrong in the brain.   Unlike other body parts, however, imbalances in the brain are complex and difficult to sort out because of this uniqueness.   What other body part can be so directly affected by our own attitudes and experiences?   (Maybe the digestive system but we don't think with it so that's another matter).   Genetic factors aside, an individual's perception of the world and consequent behaviors can affect the state of the brain.  

I will never be a brain expert, but Dr. Greg Knopf, who I mentioned in a previous post (Thoughts on Depression Part I) is just that.   He also views the brain and all its quirks from a biblical worldview, and rightly so, for the human mind is surely one of God's most amazing creations.   

 Hormones called neurotransmitters are the key to understanding brain imbalances.    A deficiency in an essential neurotransmitter is not the same as a depressed mood, which is experienced by everyone at times.   Dr. Knopf puts it this way, "If the brain does not have an adequate amount of these hormones, the body’s nerve-messages don’t get delivered, and the body begins to malfunction. Some people inherit a tendency to have low hormone levels because their nerve cells either break down more of the hormones than other people’s do, or their body simply does not make enough of them."

A traumatic experience, such as divorce or death of a family member, can deplete the brain of neurotransmitters because it basically gets stuck in overdrive, or a high alert state.   For some people, this can lead to a prolonged depletion of neurotransmitters and the brain needs help "bouncing back".  Fortunately, time, rest, and wise counsel can often heal the brain.   God can heal anything in any way, but He also heals through medicine and this is  the case for the brain at times.   

There is a lot of misinformation about antidepressants and how they work.   The name "antidepressant" itself is a little misleading because people associate it with achieving an unnatural high, similar to what addictive drugs, such as narcotics, do.    Antidepressants don't do this and they are not addictive; they actually bring depleted levels of serotonin and other neurotransmitters back to normal levels.   

As Dr. Knopf's explains in the video below, "Antidepressants helps the body conserve what you've already made."  Conserve what we've already made for normal functioning.   Therein lies the difference between so-called recreational drugs and antidepressants.     The video also shows what happens when the brain is overstimulated by too much of a neurotransmitter and the unpleasant consequences of this.   
 

Sources:  http://depressionoutreach.com/
http://www.sermoncentral.com/articlec.asp?article=gregory-knopf-understanding-depression-medication&Page=1&ac=&csplit=9060