Evolutionary causes of depression

In: Causes

From the standpoint of evolutionary theory, major depression is hypothesized, in some instances, to increase an individual's reproductive fitness. Evolutionary approaches to depression and evolutionary psychology posit specific mechanisms by which depression may have been genetically incorporated into the human gene pool, accounting for the high heritability and prevalence of depression by proposing that certain components of depression are adaptations, such as the behaviors relating to attachment and social rank. Current behaviors can be explained as adaptations to regulate relationships or resources, although the result may be maladaptive in modern environments.

From another viewpoint, a counseling therapist may see depression, not as a biochemical illness or disorder, but as "a species-wide evolved suite of emotional programmes that are mostly activated by a perception, almost always over-negative, of a major decline in personal usefulness, that can sometimes be linked to guilt, shame or perceived rejection". This suite may have manifested in aging hunters in humans' foraging past, who were marginalized by their declining skills, and may continue to appear in alienated members of today's society. The feelings of uselessness generated by such marginalization could hypothetically prompt support from friends and kin. Additionally, in a manner analogous to that in which physical pain has evolved to hinder actions that may cause further injury, "psychic misery" may have evolved to prevent hasty and maladaptive reactions to distressing situations.