Depression is more than feeling down. It is a bonafide psychiatric condition that affects nearly 5% of Americans every year. Whether you think you are depressed or know you are, please reach out to a healthcare provider to get the help you need. There may depression triggers that go beyond stress.

Depression Is More Than Stress

Beta-blockers do not cause depression.

Diagnosis Life summary:
It is a misconception that beta-blockers increase the risk for depression. Unfortunately, that means many people may have not been prescribed the treatment they need. That could mean an increase in cardiac events like heart attacks and stroke. A systematic review of 285 studies in Hypertension (https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.120.16590) included more than 53,000 patients. When compared to placebo and other treatments for hypertension, beta-blockers did not increase rates of depression.

Inadequate physical activity may be one of the most common depression triggers.

Diagnosis Life summary:
Inflammation is associated with depression and exercise decreases inflammation. A review in Molecular Neurobiology (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-019-01670-1) highlights the effects of physical exercise on mental health. Specifically, exercise increases production of PGC1α which decreases the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and increases anti-inflammatory cytokines. It also reduces glutamatergic neurotoxicity and promotes monoaminergic neurotransmission. You do not need to know the details to understand that increasing your physical activity will boost your mood.

A tryptophan-rich diet can decrease depressive symptoms.

Diagnosis Life summary:
A study in Neurochemistry International (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuint.2012.12.014) looked at the effects of a serotonergic diet on depressive symptoms. Think of serotonin as a natural mood stabilizer. It helps to explain why selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are so effective as antidepressants. By increasing the amount of serotonin that reaches receptors in the brain, they decrease depressive symptoms. Now, what if you could boost those serotonin levels without medication? Serotonin-rich foods don’t help all that much because the hormone does not easily cross the blood brain barrier. Tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin, does. Increasing the tryptophan in your diet (e.g., apples, bananas, canned tuna, cheese, chicken/turkey, chocolate, milk, nuts/seeds, oats, etc.) allows more serotonin to form across the blood brain barrier. It explains why a low tryptophan is a common depression trigger.

Your gut bacteria plays a role in depression.

Diagnosis Life summary:
Again, your diet comes into play. A review in Current Pain and Headache Reports (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-020-00871-x) considers the microbiota–gut–brain axis, investigating how what we eat affects metabolites that reach the brain. Not only can these metabolites affect neurotransmission and neuroinflammation, they can influence your mental health. Eating a diet that maintains a healthy balance of gut bacteria can curb depressive symptoms.