October 4, 2024

What Can Cause Depression ?

The complexity of depression sometimes makes choosing one specific cause for it difficult, but multiple events and factors in an individual’s life can cause depression.  Most of these factors are negative, such as traumatic events, failed relationships, and poor life choices.  Others are neutral or even positive, such as big moments of change or positive milestones like weddings or births.  Depression can also be caused by a combination of multiple factors and occurrences that combine to create a bad situation.

Medical Issues

Medical issues can cause depression by dragging people down via medication and pain.  Some medications used to treat high blood pressure and other medical issues can cause depression, and chronic pain can wear away at a person’s mind and body.  The trauma of going through a serious illness can also lead to depression because the mental and physical strain wear down patients.

Genetics

Genetics may also lead to depression since the odds of getting depression increase when the person has a close family member who also has depression.

Traumatic Events

Traumatic events can cause depression since witnessing or experiencing something terrible can lead to both physical and mental problems.  The death of a loved one, for example, can cause grief, loneliness, or even guilt to plague a person and removes a dependable person upon which the patient can depend.  Failed relationships such as break-ups, divorces, and shattered friendships can also lead to depression because loved ones have the ability to hurt people more than any other group.  Feelings of guilt, rejection, and betrayal can cause an emotional and physical downward spiral that culminates in depression.

Relationship Issues – Personal Conflict

Personal conflict can lead to depression because constant combat wearies the body and mind.  Few things have the ability to wear down a person to the degree of personal conflict, and patients often require therapy and medicine to cope with conflict.  Social conflict can also cause depression due to the stress involved with going against what a group of people expects of a person; being cast out of such a group can also trigger depression.

Brain Chemistry

What makes depression so hard to treat is that brain chemistry is involved in addition to mental and physical aspects.  Not only can outside events cause depression, but a chemical imbalance in the brain can also be a large depression factor.  If the brain cannot function properly, than already-traumatized minds will not be able to cope with seemingly insurmountable problems, making multiple depression treatment options a necessity.

 

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