Causes of Depression
Causes of Depression
Although there is no specific cause of depression has been discovered, there are some factors believed to involved:
Heredity: The likelihood of developing depression may be linked to heredity; there is some evidence that depression may run in families. A 2004 press release from the National Institute of Mental Health states, Major depression is thought to be 40-70 percent heritable, but likely involves an interaction of several genes with environmental events.
Effects of Insomnia on Depression
Physiology: There may be imbalances or modifications in chemicals, called neurotransmitters, which transmit information in the brain. Many recent antidepressant drugs increase levels of certain neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and norpinephrine. Though the causal relationship is unclear, it is commonly known that antidepressant medications can alleviate certain symptoms of depression; although critics argue that the relationship between serotonin, Neurotransmitters allow electrical signals to move from the axon of one nerve cell to another. A lack of neurotransmitters will actually impair a persons brain communication levels.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a kind of depressive disorder, which occurs in the winter when daylight-hours are short. It is thought that the production of melotonin in the body, which is produced at higher levels in the dark, has an important role in the onset of SAD; and that many patients respond well to bright-light therapy, also known as phototherapy.
Psychological factors: A person with a very low self-esteem or has a self-defeating attitude towards life are linked to depression. However, it is not clearly known which is the cause and which the effect. It is well known that depressed individuals who are able to make corrections in their thinking-patterns can show improved mood and self-esteem. Psychological factors related to depression include: the complicated development of personality in an individual; and how one taught oneself to cope with external-environmental stimuli, such as stress.
Early experiences: Events like the death of a parent, abandonment or rejection, neglect, chronic illness, and physical, psychological, or sexual abuse can also increase the chances of depression later in life. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) includes depression as a causative factor.
Life experiences: Job loss, financial problems, long periods of unemployment, the loss of a spouse or other family member, divorce or the end of a committed relationship, or other traumatic events may trigger depression. A person dealing with long periods of stress at work, school or even at home, can also be involved.
Medical conditions: Certain illnesses, for instance cardiovascular disease, hepatitis, mononucleosis, hypothyrodism, and organic brain damage as a result of degenerative conditions, such as Parkinson disease or by traumatic, blunt-force injury can contribute to depression, as can certain prescription drugs such as birth-control pills and steroids. Gender dysphoria can also cause depression.
Diet: The high rates of depression in industrialized societies are associated with diet, especially with reduced levels of omega-3 fatty acids in intensively-farmed food and processed foods. This association has been at least partly reemphasized by studies using dietary supplements in schools and by a double-blind test in a prison. Excessive intake of omega-6 fatty acids in the diet was shown to cause depression in experimental rats.
Alcohol and other drugs: Alcohol can have a poor effect on mood; and the abuse of alcohol, benzodiazepine-based tranquilizers, and sleeping medications can all play a major role in the duration and severity of depression. The association between frequent cannabis use and depression is also well known, although the direction of causality is still in question. Dr. Salynn Boyles writes, . . . Research has linked pot smoking with depression and schizophrenia . . . daily use [of marijuana] was associated with a five-fold increase in later depression and anxiety among young women.
Postpartum Depression (also known as Postnatal Depression): Dr. Ruta M Nonacs writes: While many women have some mood fluctuations following labor, 10-15 percent women experience a more disabling and persistent form of mood disturbance (e.g., Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Psychosis." When this occurs, the onset typically is within three months after delivery and it could be prolonged for many months. Approximately two new mothers out of a 1000 experience the more serious depressive disorder referred to as Postnatal Psychosis, which induces hallucinations and/or delusions.
Living with a depressed person: People living with a person suffering from Depression also experience higher levels of anxiety and life disruption, which in turn increases the possibility of the caregiver becoming depressed.
Social environment: According to Evolutionary Theory, depression is a protective mechanism: If an individual perceives himself to be involved in a lengthy fight for dominance in a social group and finds himself clearly losing, depression makes the person back off and accept the submissive role. When this happens, the person is protected from unnecessary harm. Consequently, depression helps maintain a social hierarchy.
Other evolutionary theories: One other evolutionary theory suggests that the cognitive response that produces modern-day depression has evolved as a mechanism that allows persons to assess whether they are in pursuit of an unreachable goal. Others also claim that depression is associated to perfectionism.
In recent years, a number of evolutionary biologists have begun subscribing to the theory of honest signaling. This theory highlights that the incidence of Major Depression is much higher in persons born after 1945 and that such suffering is more frequently found in individuals of greater-than-average intellect and emotional complexity, which would seem to cast doubts on a possible disease model.
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