BY AKANKSHA ARORA
Current research is shedding new light on the biological connection between stress and depression. Despite advancements in the understanding of stress and depression, one in ten Americans still meet the criteria for depression and only half of depressed individuals seek treatment according to surveys by the Center for Disease Control and the National Institute of Mental Health.
For nearly twenty years HeartMath® (www.heartmath.com) has been researching the physiology of stress and wellness, and HeartMath stress experts believe that chronic stress is a likely cause behind the increase in those experiencing depression. In light of Depression Awareness Month, HeartMath is offering resources for stress and depression that can work with a doctors’ suggested treatment plan.
Depression has many possible causes including genetics, brain chemicals and life situations, which can all cause stress. Chronic stressful life situations can increase the risk of developing depression if individuals are not coping with stress well. While many are over-stressed these days, the personal remedies to relieve stress don’t seem to be working as well as they used to. HeartMath stress experts say this is because today’s stress is different.
After nearly twenty years researching the physiology of stress and wellness, and watching stress levels grow each year, HeartMath experts say that the majority of us are resigned to stress as an unwanted but inescapable way of life. Until recently, stress was considered an issue only after a major life crisis. However, for many people, today’s stress is not about just the single incident type of stress that naturally follows trauma. Today many people are coping with several major stress incidents at once such as illnesses, financial strains and in some cases job and home losses.
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