Causes of Depression

Let there be no doubt that depression is a serious mental illness that requires months and sometimes years of treatment on the path to a cure. 

Every year, millions of Americans feel the symptoms of depression.  Only about a third of them will seek treatment, and that makes it worse.  Because depression is considered a mental affliction, many sufferers shy away from seeking help from a doctor.  Instead of being considered mentally ill, people try to manage the problem themselves.  Unlike a headache, depression doesn't eventually stop on its own, and more people suffer from depression than you might think.  

So, what are the causes of depression?  There are many factors to consider, so the answer isn't simple.  There are so many things factored into the cause of this disease. Here are a few of the parts of depression.  Brain chemicals being out of proportion contributes strongly to depression.  But what causes the imbalance?  Generally the causes are internal – biological issues, genetic disposition, mental problems – but there are external causes as well.  There are those inflicted that never really determine what spurned their depression.  If diagnosis of another serious medical condition happens, sometimes people become depressed.

Depression can also stem from the emotional pain when a close person dies.  Everyone knows such losses are serious. Long periods of emotional, sexual or other physical abuses can result in depression.  In addition, many cases of depression are given birth by substance abuse, rather it be drugs or alcohol.  Even a perfectly healthy person, when exposed to the right combination of events and issues, can become afflicted with chronic depression.  There can also be a genetic element to depression. A strong correlation between family history of depression and current depression has been found .  Many prescription drugs can be the causes of depression.  Studies and tests show a casual relation between many high blood pressure medications and depression.  

Depression can result from stress.  Stress itself is a complex subject with many different causes.  It's not well known, but it's true, that stress can result from the pressures associated with positive events such as a new, high paying job.  The unknown is often the root cause of this stress, whether it be positive or negative.  When friends or loved ones come into conflict with an individual – a co-worker or loved one – the result is stress.  There are a great number of people who are stressed from simply trying to perform their jobs to satisfaction and trying to support their families from week to week.  By determining the causes of depression, medical professionals have a much better chance of administering a treatment.  Seek medical help if you or a loved one suffer from depression.