DEPRESSION

There is no one cause of depression. Each aspect can be due to different causative factors. If we have been medically diagnosed, then all these factors will fall under the one label “depression”.

Depression can occur for a variety of reasons and the triggers differ for each person. It may be the result of unfinished business or the outfall of a situation or a crisis which appeared at the time to be impossible to manage (See the Stress Scale below). It can also result from a kind of “learned helplessness” or the un-grieved loss of an early separation. A downward spiral can follow when successive difficulties compound the situation.

In 1967, Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe developed the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale which ranks life events by the degree to which it is likely that they will causes us stress. Here are the top 20 of the 43 life events they included in the scale with a stress ranking next to each.

It is possible that any number of the above on their own, or in combination, could lead to us feeling that things had become too overwhelming. Or it may that there has been some particular persistent difficulty not on this list that has been experienced as unmanageable in some way, but which has never been fully dealt with.

The risk of becoming depressed can be higher if we tend towards being overly self-critical, or find ourselves sensitive to public opinion, have low self-esteem, or have a family history of depression. Today’s world of social media can put additional pressure on people to live up to artificial ideals. The postnatal depression that surfaces after a woman has given birth is due to hormonal changes and the added responsibility of new life. Loneliness (see Loneliness page) can increase the risk of depression as can substances which alter the chemistry of the brain such as alcohol or cannabis. Other causes include illness, head injury and an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism)