What are the Causes of Depression?

Depression is a common disease and all of us are at risk of depression. The exact cause of depression is not known. Many factors (biological, psychological, and social) can lead to depression. Read on to know the causes of depression.

Biological Causes

The biological causes which can cause depression include alteration in chemicals/neurotransmitters in the brain, genetic factors, and hormonal imbalance.

• Chemicals / Neurotransmitters: Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers.  These help in the transmission of nerve impulses through the nervous system (in the brain and through the nerves). There are several types of neurotransmitters in the brain. Neurotransmitters noradrenaline and serotonin are decreased in the brain during depression.
• Genetic: The exact genes or the extent to which genetic factors contribute to the development of depression is not known. But genetic factors probably contribute to depression as people with a family history of depression are at higher risk of depression.
• Hormonal imbalance: The way in which hormonal imbalance causes depression is not known. An imbalance of female sex hormones can cause depression. Depression is more common in postmenopausal women and postpartum (after delivery) depression is also quite common.

Psychological Causes

The personality or attitude of a person and the coping strategies with life’s events can predispose one to depressive illness.

• Personality or attitude: Several personality traits such as a very ambitious person, anxious personality, obsessive/perfectionist person, or people who set very high standards for themselves are more likely to experience depressive episodes as compared to people who don't have such type of personality.
• Coping strategies: The way a person deals with stressful events in life such as separation, divorce, death in the family, or loss of job  determines, how predisposed you are to depression. People who are impulsive, aggressive, and self-centred are more likely to experience depressive episodes.

Social causes and social support: Several social factors can affect the risk of developing depression.

• Stressful events: People with a lot of stressful life events (such as separation, divorce, death, loss of job) are at higher risk of depression.
• People sharing meaningful relationships with  friends, spouse, and sibling/s are at lesser risk of developing depression. These have a positive effect in preventing depression.
• Single people, divorced and the elderly are more prone to depression.

Depression is a treatable disease. It can be treated with medicines, counselling, or with a combination of the two. If you think you have symptoms suggestive of depression, consult a doctor at the earlier for effective treatment.

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