Depression: What causes it?

Have you ever stopped to think about why people suffer from depression? Maybe, you were diagnosed with serious depression. And you stop to ask yourself, why are some people depressed and others aren't?

Depression is a very complex condition. Nobody for sure, the causative factors of depression. However, it has been demonstrated that several factors can trigger depression. Certain people become depressed when they are chronically sick. Other people may become depressed after a significantly life-altering event like losing a close one or changing houses. Still, there are other people with a history of depression in their families. So, what causes depression?

Depression: The main causes

When it comes to depression, there are various causes. Depression is a mental illness that needs to be taken care of. Numerous factors can increase the chances of depression in many people. They are:

Abuse: Abuse is the biggest culprit when it comes to causative agents of depression. Emotional, sexual, or physical abuse can increase the vulnerability of many people to depression. Especially later in their lives.

Age: Elderly people are easily prone to depression. This is usually made worse when they are living alone. Depression can also be triggered among elderly people when they do not have any social support.

Medications: Medications can also trigger depression.in vulnerable people. Drugs like corticosteroids, interferon-alpha (the antiviral drugs), and isotretinoin (used for acne treatment) can increase the possibility of vulnerable people becoming afflicted with depression.

Conflict: Many people have some inherent biological vulnerability which can expose them to easily getting depressed. This way, any personal dispute or conflict with a friend or family member can result in depression.

A loss or death: Many people usually become depressed after losing a loved one. Depression can also be caused by any type of death witnessed by vulnerable people. This is a natural phenomenon, but such events easily increase the probability of depression among vulnerable people.

Gender: When it comes to gender, depression seems to be more common among women than in men. Women have more likelihood of becoming depressed compared to men. Nobody knows a reason for this. Women undergo hormonal changes throughout various points of their lives. This may be a causative agent.

Genes: Genetic factors also play an important factor in predisposing vulnerable people to depression. Depression has a complex characteristic in human beings. There are possibly a lot of genes that exert little effects to trigger depression as against a single gene. The genetic factors behind depression like a majority of psychiatric illnesses are not as straightforward. This is why depression is very difficult to approach from the perspective of genetic disposition.

Major events: Another possible trigger for depression are major events. Major events such as getting married, travelling to a new country, starting another job, or graduating can cause depression. Other possible causative factors for depression include retiring, getting divorced, losing an income or a job. However, clinical depression as a syndrome is not a "normal" reaction of the body to the stressful events of life.

Personal problems: Many other personal problems can make people vulnerable to depression. This can be social alienation because of mental illness or being rejected by a social group or a family.

Serious illness: In some cases, people can suffer from depression because of a serious illness. In some other cases, it could be triggered off by another health problem.

Substance abuse: Approximately 30% of people that are addicted to substances are also prone to becoming depressed. One caveat about using drugs and alcohol is that they provide instant and temporary pleasure. They are known to ultimately trigger and aggravate depression. Legal substances are not known to cause depression, however.