What causes depression?
The exact cause is not known. Anyone can become depressed. Some people are more prone to it, and it can develop for no apparent reason. You may have no particular problem or worry, but symptoms can develop quite suddenly. An episode of depression may also be triggered by a life event such as relationship problem, bereavement, redundancy, illness, etc. In many people it is a mixture of the two. For example, the combination of a mild low mood with some life problem, such as work stress, may lead to a spiral down into depression.
Women tend to develop depression more often than men. Particularly common times for women to become depressed are after childbirth (postnatal depression) and the menopause.
A chemical imbalance in the brain might be a factor. This is not fully understood. However, an alteration in some chemicals in the brain is thought to be the reason why antidepressants work in treating depression.
Depression is common, but many people don't admit to it. Some people feel there is a stigma attached, or that people will think they are weak. Great leaders such as Winston Churchill have suffered depression. Depression is one of the most common illnesses that GPs deal with. People with depression may be told by others to 'pull their socks up' or 'snap out of it'. The truth is, they cannot, and such comments by others are very unhelpful.
Understanding that your symptoms are due to depression, and that it is a common illness, may help you to accept that you are ill and need help. This may be particularly true if you have physical symptoms such as headache or weight loss. Some people ask "am I going mad?" It may be a relief to know that you are not going mad, and the symptoms that you have are common and have been shared by many other people.
You may 'bottle up' your symptoms from friends and relatives. However, if you are open about your feelings with close family and friends, it may help them to understand and help.
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Where to next?
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Post-natal depression
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What are the treatment options for depression?
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What are the treatment options for SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)?
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Depression: Help and advice
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More about light therapy for SAD
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Seasonal affective disorder and how to fight it
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Some particular features of SAD
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Under the microscope: Depression
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What are the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder?
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What is seasonal affective disorder?
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Who gets Seasonal Affective Disorder?
Brigitte, about 1 year
wich is also important to know is that some people do pick up on depressions of their family members cause of their hieghtened sensitivity/empathy to those who are around them. dealing with their own daily things is easy to 'handle'when they are aware of this and learn how to deal with it. like to 'close' themselves in particular situations wich can be stress-increasing. Like in big crowds or particular people wich may make u feel out of balance. We can close ourselves for example by putting our feet crossed over eachother (and I'm not talking about Buddha-sit, no u can just do this at ur work sitting in ur chair.) Grounding-methods do help a lot for people in this case suffering with depression.
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