If left untreated: Depression and anxiety damage the brain

Research shows that mental disorders are bad for the brain. From study to study, the results show unequivocally that clinical depression and anxiety disorders make significant changes in key areas of the brain.

This is a specific and major problem for all people who suffer from mood disorders or anxiety disorders. When it comes to depression, common symptoms include mood swings, but also difficulties in cognitive functioning – problems remembering things, difficulty making decisions, planning, prioritizing and taking action. Research involving brain imaging techniques (magnetic resonance imaging) shows that these symptoms of depression can be explained by changes in specific areas of the brain, including the memory center (hippocampus), the problem-solving area (anterior cingulate cortex) and the part of the brain for planning and executing activities (prefrontal cortex).

The German researcher Thomas Frodl conducted a very important Research in which he compared the brains of people with depression and those without depression. As he observed them, he saw that people with depression had abnormalities in several areas of the brain, unlike people without depression. He noticed the most changes in the hippocampus, cingulate and prefrontal cortex. Frodl then followed both groups for the next three years and noticed that additional damage appeared (in the dorsomedial prefrontal, dorsolateral and orbitofrontal cortex) in people who did not go to any of the treatments for depression, writes the psychotherapist Stefan Dimic.

This in itself sounds depressing, but we should not forget the brain's phenomenal ability to change throughout its lifespan. Namely, in Frodl's words, "If treatment with antidepressants and psychotherapy is started in time, we can prevent brain damage." Likewise, damage that has already occurred on the brain can, to a certain extent, be restored to its previous state if adequate treatment is applied.

The researchers also point out how rumination is a dangerous process. Rumination is a passive and repetitive way of thinking, in which a person can spend hours thinking about the causes, consequences and symptoms of the negative feeling he has. This process is typical for people with depression, because they mistakenly think that in this way they will solve some of their problems and that things will "fall into place".

However, research shows that rumination interferes with problem solving and worsens mood rather than improving it. While a person ruminates, his fear center (amygdala) is activated, and increased isolation from other people will contribute to the person becoming less involved in activities that give him pleasure.

There are different types of treatment for depression, and the most important thing is to seek help in time.