The Causes of Depression
Depression is a complex and wide-ranging problem that manifests in different forms. It is usually impossible to trace depression back to its root cause, but several factors can contribute to its development. Depression may start slowly over extended time or may come about quickly after an event. It may be a combination of recent events such as trauma and a pre-disposition for depression. Lastly depending on the science, many studies have shown brain involvement and even more recent studies have shown that the old “Chemical Imbalance” theory is no longer considered cutting edge correct but instead points to a combination of factors.
Causes of Depression
1. Trauma
There is a long history of research suggesting that trauma is the main cause, or a main trigger of depression symptoms. Emotional distress during and after given memories and emotional re-experiencing can occur after a person is exposed to difficult or emotionally disturbing events such as a car accident, emotional abuse, or an emotional trauma such as an active shooter event. Events that are prolonged such as emotional, sexual, or physical abuse during childhood, living in an unsafe environment, and other long-term stressors can lead to trauma and, ultimately, depression. Exposure to these events spread over a long period of time can be a cause of depression.
2. Genetics
Historical research has a hard time saying that genetics make up causal reasons for depression. However science can say that depression can run in families, indicating a genetic component to this mood disorder.
The genes that are suspected to co-vary with depression play different roles, such as the thinking, activity, and transport of neurotransmitters. These are the chemicals that transmit signals between neurons.
3. Life circumstances
Life events, such as the death of a loved one, or a pet, can lead to severe grief that sometimes develops into depression. Additionally, separation, divorce, or the second marriage of a parent can also trigger depression in children.
The ability of a person to cope with a situation, positive thinking, and accepting support from others determine if such life situations can cause depression.
4. Drug and alcohol misuse
First of all, no judgement here. Substances have been used by humans since the beginning of time. Since cave men and cave women have collected leaves and roots and boiled them into tinctures and teas to consume, or poultice to apply, we have used these things to benefit us. From tea leaves that gave us the energy to hunt and gather food, to willow bark tea that gave us analgesics, to anti-bacterial poultice applied to wounds, we humans have interacted with plants since the beginning. In fact it was only in modern times with the perfection of distillation that humans have had difficulties with alcohol. Previously making a low strength beer was the way we sanitized dirty water for drinking. Distillation of alcohol led to more refined methods of distilling properties in plants thus creating our modern chemistry and substances as well as formal pharmaceuticals. Some people resort to drugs and alcohol consumption to uplift their mood, cope with stress or emotions, and lessen the symptoms of depression. Some of those drugs, including some of the pharmaceutical drugs we get from our pharmacies, are not the best method or can even be abused. It goes without saying that the modern abuse of these chemicals can have horrible effects even easily leading to death from modern opiates.
5. Aging
Older adults are a high-risk group for quiet, unpronounced depressive episodes and as such, are one of the highest risk groups for completed suicides. Aging causes a brain to shrink in volume. This and other medical phenomenon such as heard disease, may affect the neurotransmitter pathways and hormone or other levels. This can influence an individual’s mood, resulting in depression or cognitive impairment.
6. Hormones
Both men and women may develop depressive disorders due to changes in the levels of hormones. Modern science is starting to understand and recognize disorders that are the result of low testosterone, and estradiol in men and incorrect testosterone, progesterone and estrogen in women. The simple truth is that junk science as recently as in the 1990’s did a poor job of understanding the consequences of not replacing these hormones and demonizing replacing them with scare stories that replacing the body’s own natural hormone levels to a normal range would cause cancer. These came about because of science that postulated that tumors that fed from these hormones ought to be treated by starving them and that it must be the opposite (replacing them causes cancer). This is nothing but baseless assumptions and has been proven incorrect.
In addition, depressive disorders can occur during pregnancy, perimenopause, menstrual cycle, menopause, or postpartum depression which is not just a side effect of pregnancy.
7. Social media
With the advent of social media, it has become common for young adults and teenagers to connect to their peers electronically, rather than meeting in person. It is speculated that the connections made on social media platforms are not emotionally satisfying, often leading to a sense of isolation.
8. Stress
Severe, prolonged stress is the most common cause of trauma and can increase the chances someone can suffer depressive illness or anxiety disorder with depression.
9. Medical conditions
Chronic pain, sleep disturbances, anxiety and panic and many other mental health disorders can be contributing factors to depression . Some medications can also trigger depression as a maladaptive side effect.
Risk Factors for Depression
Bio - Psycho - Social
People are more or less, susceptible to depressive disorder based upon other factors such as familial factors, biological determinants, or personality.
Higher risk individuals may or may not develop depression, but they may be more prone to find it difficult to cope with crisis and traumatic events. They may not have the skills to adjust to deal with what Freud called, “life’s slings and arrows”, and thus easily fall prey to depression.
The following risk factors might make you more susceptible to depression:
Biochemistry: Alterations in the chemicals in the brain can cause symptoms of depression.
Genetics: You are at a higher risk of developing depression if it runs in your family. For two reasons: you learn depression and do not learn coping skills, or simply you have the genetic makeup that makes you prone to depression. Science at this time cannot say that depression is a genetic cause, but it can say it runs in families, which science calls “familial”. If you have an identical twin you have a %70 chance of developing depression in your lifetime.
Personality: Being affected by markedly low self-esteem, constant negative thoughts, or continual stress can predispose depression.
Environmental factors: Exposure to neglect, abuse, violence, or being impoverished can make people more prone to depression.
Mental health is the most important of general well-being. People shy away from discussing depression due to some misplaced sense of embarrassment or shame, which further feeds into the problem
Depressive illness may affect different people differently. Similarly, different people may have different coping mechanisms to fight depression. But everyone going through this ordeal invariably needs support, which can range from medication to someone to share your feelings with.