Depression
The main causes for depression.
Biological/Genetic causes such as a chemical imbalance in the brain, disease, and family history. In addition, each individual seems to have their own vulnerability to depression. In that, two people could experience a very similar experience and one could come out of it without a problem while the other could become severely depressed.
Psychological/Cognitive causes such as childhood experiences particularly in the family of origin; stress and significant losses such as divorce or the death of a loved one; feeling helpless in a situation; how a person thinks about the world, themselves, and the future; anger turned inward and unexpressed; unconfessed sin, and the shame and guilt associated with it.
Social/Environmental causes such as living under oppressive political situations or economic downturns, feeling trapped in a demanding job, or living with an abusive spouse.
There is a wide variety of depressive symptoms. Symptoms can be categorised into four groups:
Feelings – Sadness, worthlessness, helplessness and lack of hope.
Thinking – Negative thoughts, pessimism, self-critical, suicidal.
Behaviour – Social withdrawal, inability or difficulty preforming everyday tasks.
Physical – lack of pleasure, fatigue, loss of energy, sleep disturbance, loss of appetite.
While one or a number of the factors mentioned above cause’s depression, once depression has developed it has the ability to affect every area of a person's life, including the people around them.