Depression is a somewhat complicated disorder and there is no one single cause for it. It is caused by a combination of things – biological changes in our bodies, genetic factors and psychological influences. Therefore, its treatment must take into account all of these factors.
Depression results when there are abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain. These neurotransmitters are what carry vital signals to both your brain and nerves. When those signals get crossed because of a chemical imbalance, depression is often the result.
Depression is also to some extent hereditary. In fact, sometimes whole families will have at some point in their lives battled the disease. Especially in the more serious forms of depression, such as severe anxiety or bi-polar disorders, an entire generation in the same family may suffer from it. However, just because several members of a family suffer from the disease does not mean every member of the family will get it; external forces play a large role as well. Also, the chemical makeup of one family member’s body will not be the same as the other. Sometimes it is just possible that one’s genetically determined physical body make-up will make you more resistant to depressive disorders than another family member. In fact, there are thousands of cases of depression where only one member of an entire multi-generational family will ever get the disease. This shows that depressive disorders are truly caused by a combination of factors, rather than just one.
Depressive disorders are also aggravated by many external stresses in our lives, such as problems at home, work or school. These stresses will often trigger an onset of a severe depressive disorder as they will affect our physical systems, thus resulting in chemical imbalances in our brain as well.
Depression as a disease is not fully understood and what causes it remains to some extent a mystery to the scientific and medical community. Research to date seems to indicate that it is caused by genetic, familial, biochemical, physical, psychological and social influences in our lives – in other words, just about anything can trigger an onset of depression.
Depression is unique in that it is a disease that feeds on itself. A social stress may cause it, such as the loss of a job. It triggers the symptoms which get worse over time – feelings of worthlessness, helplessness, vulnerability and anger. These, in turn, make it even more unlikely that we will ever get another job because they render us unable to do anything to achieve that goal. We take to our beds for days at a time, our energy levels plunge, and our ability to maintain even the most basic social contacts is reduced to nil. The feelings of helplessness escalate even further as our relationships take a nosedive and more things in our lives turn sour. Without intervention, the depression can escalate to the point where suicide seems to become the only way out.
Depression has also been traced to specific medical conditions. These conditions tend to be ones that involve hormonal or chemical changes in our bodies, such as endocrine disorders, such as Diabetes, and many forms of cancer. Pulmonary disorders have also been traced as causes of depression, along with some cardiovascular diseases such as congestive heart failure. These diseases have also been known to trigger depressive episodes even in people who have never dealt with depression in their lives. Presumably this is because of the physical restrictions patients suffering from these diseases often encounter. When one is in treatment for cancer, your energy level can often be impacted by the medications you are taking. As energy is sapped, you find that you can no longer work or live your life as you once did. This in turn causes an overwhelming sense of hopelessness to engulf your life, often triggering a depressive episode. Without treatment, this depression will in turn make the physical symptoms more severe, creating a downward spiraling chain reaction in the sufferer.
Understanding the many causes of depression helps us to take advantage of the many treatment options available for it. While alleviating depression won’t make the cancer or the congestive heart failure go away, it will certainly lessen the severity of its symptoms and allow us to live a more happy and productive life with it.