There are moments in everyone’s life when they feel slightly depressed and emotionally tired. That’s normal. Every emotion is an important messenger.
Depression tells us that we should slow down and evaluate the role we are plying in life, our story, grief we have been avoiding, or maybe we should rediscover a new purpose for us in our life. This is what we call the emotion of Depression.
What others refer to when they speak about Depression is the state of depression that occurs when we avoid or resist facing the emotion of depression for too long.
This type of Depression is a common happenstance for many adults.
Others can try to brush it off, but some know they’ve got a problem area even though they are unsure of the cause.
When you’re trying to treat depression, it’s not enough to be dependent on anti depressants.
Taking that kind of route is only solving the problem on the surface. You have to dig deeper into determining the real cause so that you can address it from the root.
Some individuals have depression due to just one cause, while there are also others with multiple contributing factors.
Many of these factors have piled up over time, simply because they were not addressed by the sufferer.
To give you some insight of what are the most common causes for depression in adults, we have put together this article.
Top 6 Most Common Causes Of Depression In Adults:
1. Biological Reasons.
There could be certain changes in the brain, which disrupts the balance of hormones.
These hormones have to be in all the right levels, or else it can affect the overall feelings and emotions of the person.
Brain cells usually produce a fixed amount of neurotransmitters that are responsible for different functions such as senses, learning, and in this case, mood.
However, for some people, their receptors could be under, or over sensitive to a certain neurotransmitter.
This would then alter the response as too much, or too little. Here are the two most common neurotransmitters that can have a possible effect in the mood of an individual, thereby leading to depression in some.
Serotonin, which is responsible for controlling one’s mood. Depressed people will have a lower transmission of serotonin.
Norepinephrine, which can trigger anxiety, leading to depression.
2. Abuse.
When a person has experienced abuse or was once vulnerable to abuse, this can increase their likelihood of developing depression in the future.
The abuse can be either physical, emotional, or psychological.
Generally, it stems from the feeling of worthlessness, thinking like as if they deserve the abuse that they’ve gone through.
That said, some of the dangers of repeated abuse are, Constant feelings of anxiety and fear, Low self esteem, Mood swings, More withdrawn from society, Distorts their ability to maintain good relationships with those around them.
With any kind of abuse it is best to consult with professional psychologist or psychiatrist and deal with the cause of that trauma.
3. Genetics.
When a member of the family has been diagnosed with depression, then there’s a high likelihood that there’s another member that’ll have it too.
This is also often the case in families where one of them has committed suicide or is suicidal due to depression.
With that said, the correlation between genes and depression is still being studied today.
Genes control the production of all the proteins that are responsible for the different biological responses in the body.
When the genes’ interaction in the body are disrupted or have wrongly developed, it can alter your body’s biological and chemical makeup.
In turn, one’s mood can become unstable, the emotional self can become more sensitive and flooded with emotions that are hard to be resolved.
4. Intake Of Certain Medications.
Certain medications can lead to depression in adults. These are drugs such as the common anti acne medicine, isotretinoin, corticosteroids and interferon alpha, used to treat viruses.
The effects of depression usually stem from the side effects of these drugs, which include a feeling of discouragement, despair and sadness.
If you’ve long been prescribed any of these medications and you can observe serious changes in your mood, then your best solution is to ask for alternative medicine.
There could be certain chemical compounds in that medicine that’s causing that adverse effect on you.
Do make sure that a doctor is helping you out with this change.
Don’t just immediately stop your medication, as doing so can lead to abrupt withdrawal symptoms.
5. Health Conditions.
When a person has recently been diagnosed with a health condition that doesn’t have any cure, or that’s already on its end stage, this can increase the likelihood of that patient suffering from depression.
This comes from a feeling of hopelessness, as if they’ve lost all meaning in their life.
No matter how much they fight, it’s just not worth it anymore.
Plus, treatment for many of these life threatening or end stage diseases can also be very stressful.
Because it takes a toll on the physical and mental well being of the patient, many don’t even want to give themselves the chance to go through so many rounds or cycles of treatment.
Some of these diseases include, Chronic pain, Cancer, Thyroid problems, Stroke, Heart disease.
6. Stressful Life Events.
The fast paced life that people live in today can often lead to a lot of stress.
It feels as if you’re just moving through the same cycle every single day.
Some even have a hard time finding any sense of excitement to look forward to a brand new day.
When it seems like problems are piling up one after the other, it can be difficult to take the time at the end of the day to refresh and rejuvenate for a brand new and more positive day the next.
Stress leads to depression. It can trigger a set of chemical reactions in the body, which also leads to changes in the hormonal levels.
Particularly when stress becomes chronic or is repeated, not managed and not addressed, this feeling stays in the body.
The effect, therefore, is long term alterations in one’s mood, which in turn lead could lead to depression.
If You Are Suffering from Depression:
All that said, the most important parting word for you to remember is that if you’ve long been suffering from depression, remember that it isn’t your fault.
Getting diagnosed is also not the end of the world.
Whatever the cause, there’s always time and reason enough to address it.
Many of the causes above can intertwine, thereby making one’s onset of depression even more severe or difficult to address.
From biological changes in your body, genetics, medical problems, and stressful life situations, it isn’t too late to turn all these around.
What is At The Core of Depression:
Know that by reading this, you’ve already completed the first step to coping.
The core in any solution that promises getting out of depression is play, finding the kid within you that is buried under the piles of unresolved emotions and characters you have adopted to play.
It’s finding that care free life within you and letting it be expressed through you.
By going to the root of the cause, you now can change your situation for the better.
How to Use This Article?
👉 Step 1. Determine the main cause of your depression from the list, see if you have combination of causes.
👉 Step 2. Just knowing your main cause, or the combination of causes, will not help you. That’s why you must consult with a professional psychologist or psychiatrist that will evaluate you and help you get out of depression.
👉 Step 3. Create a playful lifestyle, introduce more play into your life, find what makes you feel alive and embody a childlike spirit, surround yourself with people who uplift your mood.
All the knowledge on the planet will not help you if you do not take action.
