Depression, which is totally abstract (as far as i understand), has physical effects like increased chances of developing Alzheimer’s and brain aging faster and in some cases physical appearance aging faster too. How?
Edit: are people thinking this question is religious or pseudo scientific? Cuz its not
In: Biology
Depression, as far as we know, is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. Your brain produces and reabsorbs chemicals like norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine which help regulate your mood as well as control things like your sleep schedule, ability to form memories, feeling emotions, and lots of other functions. If the brain is unable to “calibrate” all of these chemicals correctly, you will likely develop mental health issues. Depression doesn’t just make someone look crestfallen and feel sad. It causes things like anhedonia (the lack of pleasure when experiencing pleasurable things), sleep disturbances, sexual dysfunction, suicidal ideation, and other problems that ultimately cause stress. Stress over extended periods physically shortens the telomeres, which are the ends of our x-shaped chromosomes that make up our very DNA. The damage done to your telomeres results in accelerated aging, due to the reduced ability of the telomeres to prevent errors from occurring such as neighboring chromosomes fusing together at the ends. When these telomeres malfunction, this can cause cell death or senescence, the inability to replicate into new cells.
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