Cognitive Theory of Depression and Learned Helplessness

Learned helplessness is something that has been increasing throughout the years. It is a term related to the human psychology as well as to animal psychology, meaning that is a condition of a human being or an animal in which it has learned to behave helplessly, even when it has the opportunity to successfully help itself by avoiding a harmful circumstance to which it has been subjected. Because of these actions, animals or humans are forced to be in a complicated stage at their lives, which includes depression.

Depression is a sickness that is due mostly to mental problems of each individual. Several theories such as the environmental theory, which relates to the problems caused on someone's mental ability that come from outside sources, the biological theory, which is the one that has to do with the changes of chemistry in the brain like hormones, and the cognitive theory, which is the one that relates to each individuals feelings and what they believe and think. All of the three of them are important factors to the cause of depression. Personally, I think that the most important of them all is the cognitive theory.

This theory has much to do with the one on learned helplessness, mainly because the fact of being helpless is influences by factors such as people’s own ideas. Because there people think that they are not good enough, and even though they try and try and try, thing do not come the way they have expected, so they get to a point that they have to give up, and this causes a lot of mental problems. They think that they are not good enough and because of this they are not good enough for society. This are all ideas that come across these people’s minds, and are the ones in charge of causing such depression in the individual.

Depression Story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaZAq_QwVyQ

Cognitive Theory of Depression

The cognitive theories of depression are considered to be those that address mental events such as thinking and feeling. Different cognitive theorists have developed their own idea of what a cognitive theory is. One of this theorists is the famous Dr. Aaron Beck. According to him, negative thoughts, generated by dysfunctional beliefs, are typically the primary cause of depressive symptoms. There is a great relationship between his two factors stating that the more negative thoughts you experience, the more depressed you will become.

There are several negative beliefs that dominate depressed people´s thought: 1) I am defective or inadequate. 2) All of my experiences result in defeats or failures. 3) My future is hopeless. Together, these three beliefs are described as the Negative Cognitive Triad. When these beliefs are present in someone's cognition, depression is very likely to occur, if it has not already occurred.




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http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=13006&cn=5

Envionmental Theory of Depression

Environmental causes of depression are concerned with factors that are outside of ourselves. They are not directly related to brain function, inherited traits from parents, medical illnesses, or anything else that may take place within us. Instead, environmental events happen in the course of our everyday lives.

The enviornmental factor is of great importance in depression. This factor, which can also be called emotional factors, is caused from stressful emotional situations, such as a death of a living one, especially at a young age, or prolonged stress at home or work, and even a traumatic event. The enviornmental factor can also be kown as sociological or psychosocial factors since they bring together events that happen out in society and are linked with the people's mind.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFRvq5x3nAA
http://kicktheballs.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/funeral.jpg
http://www.allaboutdepression.com/cau_04.html
http://www.healthyplace.com/depression/main/causes-of-depression/menu-id-943/

Biological Theory of Depression

In the past, scientists thought that depression was the results of thoughts and emotions that were troubling in a person. Now, scientists have realized that there are severals aspects that workiin one's brain that can lead to depression. For example, then biological factor.

Biological causes are due to changes of chemistry in the brain, such as fluctations in the levels of important hormones. People usually have problems in the neurotransmitters, which are natural substances that allow that allow brain cells to communicate with eachother. Two of the transmitters that are implied in depression are serotonin and norepinephrine. Furthermore, deficiency in serotonin causes the sleeping problems, irritability, and anxiety. Likewise, a decreased amount of norepinephrine contributes to the fatigue and illness in depression.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWx6RbBVTnA
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http://www.healthyplace.com/depression/main/causes-of-depression/menu-id-943/