Causes of Depression
We don’t yet fully understand what causes depression. But we know that many things can contribute to it. People with depression seem to have physical changes in their brains. But it’s difficult to know whether those changes cause the depression, or whether they're an effect of having it.
We know that chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters help transmit information and maintain our mood. Most drugs that treat depression work by affecting the levels of certain neurotransmitters in your brain. We also know that changes in hormones can cause depression. Tthis is one of the things that happens when people get postpartum depression, or when depression occurs alongside thyroid problems. There also seems to be a genetic component. It seems that you’re more likely to experience depression if you’re related to somebody who has had it. And of course, difficult life events can trigger bouts of depression, as well.
In the end, we’re circling an answer, but it doesn’t look like depression has any one, simple cause. It looks like a lot of things in our biology set us up to be susceptible to getting depression, and then difficult points in life can trigger the actual episodes. But that answer isn't etched in stone yet. Life is a big weird mix of biological, emotional, genetic, and environmental influences, and it’s hard to reach into that constantly-shifting swamp and pull out an easy answer. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be on the lookout for circumstances that make depression more likely. And it doesn’t mean we can’t treat depression when it arises.
Image: Evan Dennis, via Unsplash.
Did you know...
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