Add Your Heading Text Here

What Causes Depression

Depression can be a lifelong condition with genetic, environmental, or personality origins. It can also spring up in response to events such as financial problems, job loss, or a divorce. Any major change in life – even a good one – can bring on depression. As mentioned previously, medications and substance abuse can also cause depression.

What Causes Depression?

Genetics and Depression

In some cases, genetics are at the root of depression. Studies of twins tell us that the chance of inheriting it from family members is an estimated 37 percent. (Mullins & Lewis, 2017)

Just what genetic differences cause depression escaped researchers until relatively recently.

In 2019, a series of genetic analyses of over 800,000 people using 23andMe, UK Biobank, and Psychiatry Genomics Consortium found 102 genetic variants, each independently linked to depression, along with 269 genes and 15 gene sets that were associated with it. They also found that the pre-fontal region of the brain to have a significant role in depression. (Ktori, 2019)

It’s important to understand, though, that while you may have a genetic propensity to develop depression, this doesn’t mean you necessarily will. Obviously, there can be other factors at play.

Being Neurotic

Neuroticism is a personality trait featured in both the Big 5 and Big 3 factors of personality theories. Unfortunately, it is linked to a host of physical and mental maladies.

But what is it? Neuroticism is the tendency toward negative emotional states, feelings, and views.

You may experience more anxiety, guilt, frustration, stress, and envy than other people. You can view “everyday situations as menacing and major.” You may also feel self-conscious and get nervous or uncomfortable more easily than people with low levels of neuroticism do.

The same large genome study that identified over 100 genetic variations related to depression also found that neuroticism was a cause of depression. (Ktori, 2019)

Trauma

Developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder increases the chance of developing depression by three-to-fivefold. (PTSD, 2013)

The trauma-depression connection has been demonstrated in many studies. For example, the Oklahoma City bombing nearly doubled depression rates among survivors (from 13 to 23 percent). (PTSD, 2013)

This includes childhood trauma. Believe it or not, trauma experienced in childhood can still affect you as an adult. (Helm et al., 2008)

In one study, three out of four people (76 percent) who were chronically depressed also reported “significant” childhood trauma. The more traumatic experiences or the longer the abuse, the higher the chance of developing chronic depression. (Negele et al., 2015)

Of course, many of us have been through adverse childhood experiences. Six in 10 (61 percent) in one survey reported having experienced at least one ACE. One in six reported four. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021)

Having an ACE increases your risk for a host of mental conditions and physical ailments, including:

Major Life Events

Turns out, our bodies and minds find change to be a challenge. Whether it’s a positive event (like a wedding) or a negative one (such as a job loss), the more major events you experience, the greater your stress level.

The ten most stressful life events for adults, according to the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, are:

All these events (and more) can be triggers for depression as well as can other illnesses.

It’s not just events, though.

Your environment and circumstances can also trigger depression.

For example, living in a dangerous place, whether it be from crime, terrorism, or abuse, is associated with depression.

Not being able to afford what you need in life – living below the poverty line or making less than your expenses – can be a big stressor and a trigger for depression as well. Feeling lonely can also bring on depression.

It is important to note that depression doesn’t always occur when faced with certain events or circumstances. Two people can experience the same life event or environmental factor and only one, both, or neither may develop depression.

The difference is in your perception. The way you view stressful events and circumstances can affect whether you will develop depression. Therefore, depression treatment in the form of therapy – online or in person – can make all the difference in your life.

Chemical Imbalance in the Brain

It is believed that there are functional differences in the brains of those with depression. Specifically, that there is a chemical imbalance of neurotransmitters such as serotonin.

Antidepressant medications can address these chemical imbalances directly. Selective serotonin uptake inhibitors do this by keeping serotonin levels higher than they normally would be.

Design System

Add Your Heading Text Here