Eli5 how does Depression kill you?
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It varies, but there are 2 important factors that you need to know:
1. Alterations in the endocrine system: This system regulates the production and release of hormones in the body. The ones that tell your body to be happy, stressed, sad or energized, etc. The dysfunction in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (that is responsible for the stress response) can lead to the release of more cortisol, which is the stress response, that is associated with depression. This can affect your body functions, which leads to the second factor.
2. Dysregulation in the neurotransmitter: These are chemicals that transmit signals between nerve cells in the brain, like serotonin (that plays a crucial role in regulating your mood and physiological functions) or dopamine (the one that makes you feel pleasured, rewarded and motivated). If you can’t receive these kind of signals, you will feel dismotivated to take care of yourself, both your mind and your body, and there’s nothing you will be able to do without treatment. Your mind plays the most important factor in taking care of your body, it tells you to do the most simple acts, like brushing your teeth or just leaving your bed in the morning.
Which leads to, finally, the answer to your question: Without the motivation to live, depression will literally kill you. It isn’t just a sickness that gives you a fever, is a disorder that can cause you to just stop wanting to live, which will cause a lot of other things.
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