Depression Can Now Be Detected With A Blood Test

A depressed person says, “I don’t know what’s going on in me. I have no enthusiasm for anything. I just want to be alone. Why is this happening to me? Sometimes it seems like I can get up again, but sometimes again… Even taking a shower is behind the hard work. ”

These statements, as well as the saying “No one understands me,” are very typical if a person is depressed.

In that case, the person feels that  he has no way of showing what is happening to him. He experiences a deep sense of loneliness that increases each time someone says the words, “How can you improve if you don’t do anything about it?”

Perhaps this is precisely one of the most painful things, as people with mental illnesses or disorders feel misunderstood.

When it comes to depression-related disorders, the  common belief is that if a person has such a problem, he or she is weak or cowardly. However, this is not true. The amount of pain a person then has can only be endured if it is a very strong person.

One must want to continue living in spite of the fact that one feels disconnected from the rest of the world. There is no greater evidence of human willpower than this.

The reason that the misinterpretation we mention occurs is that we consider a disease to be something we can see or measure. Therefore,  diseases that cannot be converted to Numbers often remain perceived as less severe than they actually are.

Therefore, the ability to  diagnose depression with a blood test is a relief for such people. They will eventually be able to prove that the torture they experienced is real – not a bad trait or character defect.

Can a blood test really show that you are depressed?

Researchers at the University of Vienna already knew that this disease was related to serotonin. It is the substance that is responsible for producing positive feelings and ideas.

Therefore, people with depression have very low serotonin levels. Thus, the scientists who conducted the research began their work on the basis of this assumption.

Lukas Pezawas, who is in charge of the study, says the group has been able to find the process by which serotonin is produced in human blood.

The SERT protein, which forms on the membrane of brain cells, allows the transport of serotonin. The main finding made in this study is that  this protein is also present in other organs.

These organs include, for example, the intestine and the blood.

In addition, that protein works in other organs in the same way it works in the brain. This allowed for a  much larger “network of depression” than previously thought.

Therefore, the amount of serotonin that is in the platelets will show what is going on in the brain. To be sure, the researchers took pictures, such as magnetic resonance imaging, alongside the analytical results.

The revolution is getting closer every day

The network of depression, called the “network in automatic mode,” is named because when it comes to complex ideas, it can’t function.

However, if the brain is at rest, the network is activated.

When a person is depressed, in the process of the brain, it happens that  this network stops functioning properly, so the person begins to appear automatic negative thoughts. According to the study, a blood test will soon be a sufficient test to diagnose depression.

This will make the disease more valuable. It is no longer in doubt, and those who suffer from it will no longer have to endure sentencing because of their condition. They are no longer accused of being malevolent, fragile, or people who can’t face life.

Many patients complain that the people around them think they are in a situation of their own free will or because they have not made enough effort to improve their own well-being.

Thanks to the study, depressed people can now demonstrate the reality of the discomfort they experience with a physical test.

However, we also want to draw attention here to the  importance of family support for mental health problems.

When a person has depression, his self-esteem collapses. Therefore, the fact that family and friends show, among other things, an incomprehension about the disease only makes the problem worse.

This is similar to twisting a hand when it is already injured – the pain and injuries only increase. No one deserves to experience that.