Depression vector created by pch.vector - www.freepik.com and Inkscape.org

Psychology says, depression is often the result of over thinking. Our minds create problems that initially didn't exist.

— Fact (@Fact) August 18, 2022

The mind creates problems that initially did not exist because of overthinking as a cause of depression. This seems false to me. I would really like to review the causes of depression with my readers. From what I know depression does not have a clear cause. Several theories around depression exist but non of them are profound. But who knows @facts from Twitter might know some things that we don't.

I'm raising myself to be a doctor that seeks the right information regardless of its source. I don't have a problem with a patient googling symptoms and complaining to me so long as I do what is right by the patient by treating the condition. That is why regardless of the source of the information, I want to be able to link it to a credible source.

In our last post, we discussed the relationship between sleep and depression. We looked at what The Sleep Foundation had to say about it and we looked at depression as we usually do here on Medic Vibes.

In this post, I will try to review the causes of depression and try to see if overthinking fits into any of these causes. My opinion prior to writing this post especially from what I know (which is little) is that overthinking is not a cause of major depression. We might find that non-clinical depression or depression with lower case "d" can be caused by overthinking but not clinical depression

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Depression is a life-threatening condition especially when it is not managed properly. It is estimated that about 4.4% of the world's population suffers from depression.

Depression has clear symptoms that are found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) criteria. Some of these symptoms include a sad mood, a lack of interesting previously enjoyable activities, sleep problems, eating problems, weight problems and others complications that could arise.

Depression is a major risk factor for suicide because people who are depressed start having ideation of suicide or making plans for suicide. They do this because they think life is no longer worth living. At times they may express these thoughts in the things they say.

If you or a loved one is showing signs of depression here are some suicide lines you can call:

Inkscape.org

Check your country's suicide hotlines here.

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Overthinking Depression

According to GoodRx.com, a Telemedicine company in America aimed at standardizing medication prices in the country. Overthinking can cause depression but not only, but depression can also cause overthinking.

Overthinking was also found to associate with other mental health conditions aside from depression. Some of them were anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

It is also very important to differentiate what I would call pondering and overthinking. While pondering or thinking about important decisions you want to make is normal, other thinking has some pathological underlying to it.

Let's say you wanted to buy a new car and you are thinking about the right choice to make or maybe you are wondering if a particular house is right for you or the perfect school for your kids, these are all worthy reasons to be thought so you can make the right decisions.

But when the thoughts are not founded on any factual basis or it is built with a lot of "what ifs" and it affects your daily function then this can be termed overthinking.
People who do not feel motivated unless they attain a goal are more likely to think when they are threatened by stressors.

A study done by Louisa C. Michl who has published a considerable number of psychopathological studies found that there is usually a difficulty placing which starts first between rumination and depression. Apparently one can cause the other and the progression can continue

From the GoodRx the general discussions seem to be around core mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

In the publication from NCBI, there was the same tone. I feel that whatever form of depression is being discussed, there seems to be a relationship between it and depression.

Tips

From GoodRx, there are some helpful tips to deal with overthinking. These tips include recognising triggers that cause you to overthink. This is especially helpful for those dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder but it can be helpful for those who are depressed also.

In psychotherapy there is usually a focus on these triggers and assignments are given to help deal with these harmful thoughts whenever they come. Taking action on these assignments will help develop proper coping skills for depression.

In GoodRx they made mention of challenging the facts behind the thought. Sometimes when the light of logic is thrown on these thoughts, they begin to fall apart immediately.

Friends also give good advice at times. or at least can be a listening ear to the thoughts that are bothering you. Sometimes just saying them out loud can bring you into the right frame of mid to deal with the problems around them.

As always seeking professional help and avoiding harmful substances is always encouraged.

Hive Stories

@riazud Wrote a sad story about his friend on the #bdcommunity about how he worked hard to make it into medical school and did not make it. Because of how much effort he put into this goal he fell hard into depression and had to be admitted to the hospital.

In his story, he explains how goals can be a tool for depression to kick in especially when you don't manage your expectations and keep options as you go.

I couldn't get the link to the main post but here is a link to the BD community publication I confound the work.

Questions

• What are your thoughts on Over thinking?
• Have you ever dealt with depression because of you thoughts getting the best of you?
• Which of the tip is most helpful to you?

Conclusion

Overthinking appears to have an egg and chicken relationship with depression; where one seems to have the ability to cause the other.

With proper mind remapping, you can develop helpful skills to deal with this problem.

References

• NCBI
• GoodRx
• People illustrations by Storyset
• People illustrations by Storyset