Causes of Depression :
Chemical Imbalance, Lifestyle, or Circumstance?
Common Causes of Depression
The causes of depression are as varied as the people who are affected. Here are some common factors:
Nature or Nurture?
There is an ongoing argument as to the causes of depression. Is it caused by 'nature' or by 'nurture'? Or maybe a combination of the two.
This just means that we don't know how much effect our genes have on whether or not we develop depression symptoms.
Most would agree that chemical imbalances in the brain are primary causes of depression. But is the imbalance because of our heredity?
Or does it happen because of something in our surroundings, environmental toxins, or the way our parents raised us?
Again, it is pretty well agreed that when your parents and/or siblings suffer from a mood disorder, you are more likely to get depression yourself.
If you have been abused as a child, you are more likely to have depression as an adult. It is an ongoing debate, and the answer probably lies somewhere in between.
Anxiety as a Factor
Like an aphid on a rose leaf, anxiety nibbles away at our mental health. It is a sneaky little bug that eats holes in our confidence, our value and our productivity.
One of the important causes of depression, anxiety is a common bug in our society.
- Children have anxiety about fitting in with their friends at school.
- Teens have anxiety about dating and popularity.
- Adults worry about making enough money, keeping up with the neighbors, having a retirement plan.
- Causes of depression in the elderly often come from anxieties related to health and loneliness, loss of independence and end of life issues.
Grief and bereavement
sometimes are causes of depression. Our society is in such a hurry, there is not enough time allowed to grieve a death or other loss.
Grief isn't just for deaths, any loss can cause a grief reaction. Untreated or unresolved grief doesn't go away. It smolders in the background until the pain is released again by some trigger.
Some issue, not necessarily even related, now ignites another of the causes of depression.
We must get a handle on losses, and recognize that we can grow from loss experiences. When we face the pain of grief head on, we can move through it much more quickly. It's a more intense, but shorter journey. Otherwise, we may spend months and years tied up by the pain of unresolved grief. Our lives get put on hold. We miss opportunities, and our isolation from others causes depression. Our joy is stolen.
Some of us are taught that it's disloyal or somehow disrespectful to feel happy after a death of a loved one. It won't happen right away, but gradually the joy comes back.
We can learn to weave the positive memories of our loved one into our 'now' lives in healthy ways. In this way, we can avoid one of the common causes of depression.
This doesn't happen automatically, though. Grief is work, a journey, and we need a plan and a map to make it through successfully. We then emerge stronger and wiser, ready for new challenges.
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Poverty
Poverty is a huge problem on many levels, and mental health is no exception. People who don't have adequate shelter, food, clothing and basic necessities, don't usually have good health care either.
These circumstances alone contribute to the causes of depression and make it more common among the poor. It doesn't do much good to know all about the causes of depression, and learn all the warning signs, if you can't afford the treatment.
Drug companies provide medications for people who can't afford them, but you have to meet some pretty rigid income limits. You also have to have someone to prescribe and to dispense them to you. Most of the programs work through your prescriber, sending the drugs to the medical office. The provider then needs to get them to you.
Physician and NP offices can dispense medication samples, but not the three month supplies provided by the programs. Programs are in effect in Oregon (and probably elsewhere) that qualify Nurse Practitioners to dispense medications. Pharmacies are the usual dispensers of medications, but in rural or underserved areas, medical practitioners may do so.
Medical care for people without insurance is limited. The demand is high and providers are scarce. Causes of depression can be as simple as a lack of qualified providers in an area.
This translates into bare bones care. Mostly this is limited to management of medication, and very little counseling is available.
Programs providing these services are underfunded and understaffed. The resources are spread thin.
People who must pay top dollar for health insurance with high deductibles and copays are sometimes even worse off.
They fall between the cracks, making too much for indigent programs, but not enough to cover copays or premiums.
These are just some of the barriers to mental health care for the poor.
Alcohol Use and Abuse
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant so it causes changes in the brain's chemistry. Symptoms of depression result.
The effects of alcohol can disrupt sleep and alcohol withdrawal can cause anxiety. People often self-medicate with alcohol.
It might seem like an easy way to feel better in the short run. You don't have to depend on somebody to tell you what to take, and how much.
Over time, the plan can backfire, and it takes more and more alcohol to manage the symptoms. Anxiety prevents sleep and more alcohol is the answer.
Substance abuse is another one of the more important causes of depression.
It's not unusual to find that people have little need for alcohol once depression is under control. When anxiety is manageable, and sleep is back to normal, life's challenges are much easier to face. Other drugs of abuse may be used to self-treat symptoms of depression as well. Current methamphetamine abuse is rampant because of the 'high' the drug provides.
It gives the energy to do things we could not ordinarily do. Counterfeit happiness and increased productivity are temporarily available.
Little sleep is needed, and you don't need much food, but the trade-off is a broken and worn body in very short order.
ADHD and other Mental Disorders
ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and other mental disorders are other causes of depression.
If ADHD is untreated, children and adults experience unnecessary frustration and failures. Parenting a child with special needs, like ADHD or
autism
, can place a significant strain on the family and contribute to depression. Self confidence is worn down, and this can eventually lead to depression. Often, if the underlying condition is appropriately treated, depression lifts.
Sometimes no specific antidepressant treatment is required.
ADHD and bipolar disorder in children can look a lot alike. It is important to have the child evaluated by a child psychiatry specialist (Physician or Nurse Practitioner). This reduces the time lapse between diagnosis and treatment. In turn, it limits the period of distress and disability for the child. The result is less wear and tear on child, parents, other family members, and on school relationships.
Physical Illnesses
Many common physical conditions can also cause depression. It is well known that cancer survivors, stroke survivors, and people with diabetes are more likely to have depression.
Medications used to treat other illnesses can either cause depression as a side effect, or interact with usual anti-depressant drugs.
A pre-existing medical problem complicates treatment of depression.
Prescribers who specialize in psychiatry and mental health are best able to manage these combination strategies.
Generally the decision to use a specific combination of medications rests on the benefits the medication offers.
These must be weighed against the side effects and interactions which might be risky.
For example, a diabetic patient takes a medication, for diabetes, that ends up causing depression. It may make an existing depression worse, and if so, a decision has to be made.
Is there another way to manage blood sugar, without risking depression? Or can an adjustment be made in the antidepressant to overcome the side effect of the diabetes medication?
Obviously, both conditions need to be managed and this can get pretty tricky.
Primary care providers, (family doctors, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners) are usually less familiar with psychiatric medications.
They are less comfortable adjusting and combining these medications than psychiatric specialists.
Psychiatrists and Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners, on the other hand, commonly manage patients with medical conditions.
Another typical outcome of physical illness and sometimes one of the causes of depressionis chronic pain. Dealing effectively with
chronic pain
can make a huge difference in the outcome.
Depression often is about loss of power. Using effective techniques to manage pain decreases the chances of developing chronic depression on top of it.
It's not unusual for our clients to have thyroid problems, high blood pressure, migraines, or cholesterol problems, for example.
We can safely treat depression without interfering with the stability of the other conditions.
The family practitioner and the psychiatric specialist work together to keep the patient mentally and physically healthy and safe.
Why Learn About Causes of Depression?
The bottom line is this: if we know what causes our depression we have a better chance of conquering it.
Some of these causes are outside of our control, like genes, gender and geography. On the other hand, we do have control over many aspects of our lives that may become
causes of depression.
Learn more about the effects of these lifestyle factors on depression:
- physical activity level
- nutrition and weight management
- alcohol and drug use
- smoking
- stress management
- relationship boundaries
- seeking treatment
- following treatment recommendations, communicating needs to provider
- educating ourselves about depression causes, prevention, and treatment.
These activities can all help or hinder depending on our choices. Questions? Contact us with the form below
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