History of Medicine

For my Harvard neuroscience class this summer, I had to read a technical publication and recap it. I found the paper to be very interesting as it discussed the long term effect of social stress leading to clinical depression. Social stress takes on a whole new meaning during these times of social distancing and isolation and highlights a major issue facing vulnerable people. Social interaction is an integral part of our lives. We thrive off of communication and relationship with one another. However, with all of the benefits of being social come certain drawbacks. One such negative impact is social stress that arises from social interactions and relationships, and someone who is repeatedly exposed to it suffers from chronic stress. Scientists have now proven that there is a direct link between chronic social stress and clinical depression- in fact, they have found a prominent pathway linking the two. In other words, prolonged diminishing of self-worth can cause depressive behavi