depression and the brain

hi does anyone know if depression does effect the working of the brain,i've struggled with depression most of my life and now at 51 i feel that in some way my thinking will never be clear i feel that something has altered in my brain,could it be the effects of aging ,medications ,or is it the depression? i feel that part of me has died i guess it is a question for the docs out there

depression affects us and our brains....our lives.....sleep....living, eating....you name it. we just have to keep slugging it out with it and try to keep going forward.....it's hard, i know.......but don't give up......xoxox pat

Jeff, I found that when I was depressed, my brain didn't work as well. My memory was terrible, I wasn't "sharp", I couldn't connect ideas from different areas to each other (make intellectual leaps), I couldn't multi-task well, I often couldn't recall the right words that I wanted to use, etc. When I beat depression, most of my brain function returned, including my memory. It's so great to be able to think clearly again! And to remember stuff! I really felt mentally handicapped. And now I just feel like the real me has returned. (I am not on meds so can't say if they could contribute to decreased brain function.)

Good luck.

Yes, depression effects the brain.
I saw a picture of a brain scan of a normal brain and a person with depression. The depressed brain was clearly less active than the normal person's brain.
I remember one time when I started running out of mental energy at work and then it seemed like half my brain went off-line. I started thinking really slowly. It freaked me out. Then, my brain started insulting me left and right. There are other times that I have noticed that my focus/concentration was badly effected by my emotional state.
As the previous posting said, this can be improved on. Drugs or therapy can make visible changes in the brain scan. The person's brain with depression on an anti-depressant is more active looking. After therapy, it looks much closer to the normal brain. I have found that AD's help me sleep better, improve my energy level and help my focus. I was surprised at how much I was reading after starting AD's. I have always loved to read but I had not been reading as much. I have not even realized that I had begun to read less often.

thanks for replies i feel that my brain /thinking whatever it is! has slowed i find it hard to motivate myself the worst is the confused thinking i cannot think straight consistantly if i was to act on ideas i have it would cause me to self destruct,only when i think a little clearer do i see how confused i get, i feel my depression has never been fully healed and i live with the after effects of each depressive episode ,i've had depression full blown on and off for 20 years but had dysthymia most of my life. i'm sure something in me has changed- at one time i was a police officer in an inner city area now i find it hard at times to boil an egg!

I feel the same way as I used to have a great administrative position working for a vp/sales computer company; this was 10 years ago. Very depressed off and on now and haven't worked for 9 years. The other night I felt overwhelmed helping my friend with her little son's birthday party preparations. I could barely color a "pin the tail" picture she asked me to do. Felt pathetic. :-(