Kaitlyn Bruneau (Depression Causes)
Licensed clinical social worker Kaitlyn explains the complex causes of depression, a mental health condition marked by sadness, hopelessness, and loss of interest. She explores how...
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Are There Protective Factors Against Depression?
There is also research pointing to protective factors that can help promote resilience and decrease the likelihood that someone experiences a depressive episode during their lifetime. Resilience can be promoted through healthy coping skills, a positive self-concept, and cognitive flexibility.
What are some factors that contribute to depression?
Depression is a mental health disorder characterised by pervasive patterns of sadness, hopelessness and loss of interest and pleasure. In many activities, it can impact almost every area of somebody's life. Their sleep, relationships, grades, work. It may be a single episode, a cycle of being depressed or not, or pervasively present most of the time.
What is depression?
Though we have gotten to a much better place in society where we are understanding of depression as a real sometimes debilitating disorder, we do not always understand the complexities of where it comes from. There is not one single cause for depression, and it can often manifest due to a combination of factors or at different points throughout someone's life. Genetically, some people are more predisposed to developing symptoms associated with depression. This may be because of a family history or chemical imbalance. However, having these genetic factors does not mean with certainty that someone will experience a depressive episode. Secondly, our mental experiences throughout life can impact whether or not we experience a depressive episode. If you have ever heard of the nature versus nurture debate, this is part of the nurture side. While the previous information about genetics would be considered nature, some psychological factors that could impact depression, could be experiences of trauma learned behaviours from others, substance use and addiction, and pervasive negative thought patterns or low self-esteem that developed over time. The other side of the nurture debate would be environmental factors. Prolonged experiences of stress or unsafe situations can alter our brain chemistry in a way that could lead to a propensity for depressive symptoms. This can also be true if any of our needs are not adequately met, whether our basic needs such as food, water, or shelter, or higher level needs of socialisation and purpose. While research has given us a good understanding of the factors that could be correlated with whether or not someone experiences depression, none of this is definitive. There is no single gene that tells us whether or not someone will become depressed, nor is there a perfect cause and effect between any psychological, environmental, or experiential factors.