Why I See Depression As A Symptom — Not A Diagnosis

Treatment failures are far too common, in large part because depression isn't a single or simple disorder. There are many possible causes of depression. Some of the most common biological factors that I see contribute to depression include:

At Amen Clinics, we use a brain imaging technology called SPECT to look at the brains of our patients. SPECT measures blood flow and activity. On brain SPECT scans, low thyroid levels are associated with overall low activity in the brain, which we also see in patients with brain fog and depression.

Living in a moldy home or working in an office where mold is present can dampen your mood. Research from Brown University involving nearly 6,000 people found a strong connection between mold and depression. 

Growing up, my best friend was my grandfather, who was always smiling and happy. He was a candy-maker, and some of my best memories are of making fudge with him. But all that candy took a toll, and at age 69, he had a heart attack. After that, everything changed. He cried a lot, seemed unhappy, couldn't sleep, and was eventually diagnosed with depression. I didn't know it at the time, but depression is three times more common in people following a heart attack, according to research.

Mild traumatic brain injuries—even ones that don't cause you to black out or don't get diagnosed as a concussion—can change your life in so many ways. Depression is just one of them. According to a 2020 study in Frontiers in Neurology, people with a history of a mild head injury are over three times as likely to have depression3 compared with individuals who have not experienced head trauma.

In about 40% of our patients at Amen Clinics, the brain scans show evidence of previous head trauma. Surprisingly, many of those patients either don't remember getting injured or think their injury was so minor it wasn't worth mentioning. They would never make the connection between their current depressive symptoms and falling off a bike as a kid or getting in a fender bender as a teen.

A number of studies point to high levels of inflammation as a risk factor for a variety of mental health issues, including depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, and more.

Only by addressing all of the underlying causes can you truly heal from this potentially debilitating condition so you can start feeling happier and more positive.