Unipolar questions?!
Question: Hey, I've just been diagnosed with unipolar, and was wondering, is it hereditary?
Apparently neither of my sides of lineage has anything remotely near the condition, and so I was just curious I guess.
Thanks
-Kob
Answers: Hey, I've just been diagnosed with unipolar, and was wondering, is it hereditary?
Apparently neither of my sides of lineage has anything remotely near the condition, and so I was just curious I guess.
Thanks
-Kob
Research shows that people can have a genetic predisposition to depression, but like most mental illnesses, its a combination of nature and nurture. There is usually something in the environment that can trigger that so called "depression" gene. So either side of your family could be carrying it, but won't necessarily suffer from it. Its possible that you might have relatives who do have your condition, but was never diagnosed. Mental illness, after all, still carry a lot of stigma.
Unfortunately, people who are diagnosed with a mental illness have a higher risk of passing the illness down to an offspring than someone who doesn't have a mental illness. But fortunately, we're learning more and more about depression and other mental illnesses everyday. It's still a burden to have, but with greater understanding, we're coming up with better treatment.
I applaud you for having such great insight about your condition. Its going to be hard, especially when you have your episodes, but hanging on to that insight and surrounding yourselves with friends and family to support you during those periods will definitely help you pull through.
Unipolar is kind of a odd term for clinical depression, or major depressive disorder. If I'm off on that, I apologize (e-mail me). A person can have a genetic predisposition for it, and it definitely runs in families, but not always. A person can have it without any family history too. Very few things in mental health are completely ruled by genes along or environment alone.
It can be hereditary but it doesn't have to be.
Well this is just my opinion, but I think that there is a large link between add or adhd and bipolar. I've also noticed that alot of ppl in my family that could be concidered ADD or ADHD are light or fair haired (red or blond). Those type things come from you family. I've also been told that bipolar can be caused by childhood trauma I think that they can be caused by both heredity and trauma so look at you childhood and see what you think.....
Unipolar disorder is really just another way of saying "depression". Not manic depression - which is called Bipolar and is characterised by periods of mania and other periods of depression - just depression.
Sometimes it can be hereditary, sometimes not.
The condition is usually easily treatable with anti-depression medication, prescribed by a doctor.
It's very common, so don't worry!
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EDITED / UPDATE: There are many different types of medication for depression; there's no one-kind-fits all. Also, it can take up to 2 weeks for the medication to take affect. If it's been more than 2 weeks and you are still feeling really depressed, you need to go back to your doctor, pronto, so he can change the medication. Medication can and will help; your doctor just needs to work out the right type for you.
Also, when you say you didn't even realise that you were depressed - that's very common!
If your depression is eventually controlled with medication, you shouldn't worry about burdening a spouse or future children with your condition (though of course, any potential spouse should be told of your condition). Just because you have depression doesn't mean that your kids will get it too.
Are you aware of the statistics?
http://www.depressionperception.com/depr...
An estimated 22.1% of Americans ages 18 and older (about 1 in 5 adults) suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. When applied to the 2003 U.S. Census residential population estimate, this figure translates to 46.4 million people.
Approximately 18.8 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year, have a depressive disorder.
Depression affects all people regardless of age, geographic location, demographic or social position.
A recent study sponsored by the World Health Organization and the World Bank found unipolar major depression to be the leading cause of disability in the United States.
So, you are not alone and there is lots of help available. Go back to your doctor and he/she will go about fixing up your medication and getting you back on track.
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depression is hereditary
so is bi-polar, so i would think unipolar (depression) would be, as well.
you are being very self-less to consider preventing someone else's depression by early prevention. if you do have kids, get them into counselors at a young age.