Depression Causes

Depression Causes – Biological Imbalance

Little is known about depression causes other than symptoms that come about due to unfortunate circumstances in life but a drop in serotonin levels is believed to be the main cause and in some cases there is likely to be a genetic cause. Other possible causes include traumatic experiences in childhood, Chemical changes in the brain that affect neurotransmitters, hormonal imbalances, and biological occurrences that cause physical changes in the brain. It has been proven that many cases of depression actually make a physical change in the brain, these are typically of the more severe variety but may possibly occur to a lesser degree in mild cases as well. Although not much is known about the causes of depression, the fact that treatment options have proven so successful shows that enough is known to help treat it.

Depression Causes – Circumstance

The main depression causes are more obvious as sometimes things in life just don’t go well and certain circumstances can be very difficult to recover from such as the loss of a loved one or other traumatic experience. Sometimes depression may only last a couple of weeks but sometimes it refuses to relinquish its hold and can last for years. More severe types of depression require treatment, such as bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, which has been shown to be genetic. There are levels of psychosis present in more severe forms of depression including bipolar disorder that can cause hallucinations, delusions, and other very severe and life altering symptoms. Treatment has proven successful for some cases without relapsing, though treatments may take some time compared to milder depression treatments. Most treatments use medications that increase the levels of serotonin production which is believed to be a primary cause. Childhood trauma makes individuals more susceptible to depression and may actually physically alter the brain’s chemistry and biology permanently. Even changes in the weather have the ability to cause depression as seen in seasonal affective disorder that is believed to occur due to the lack of sunlight and there are actually depression light therapy treatments available to combat it.

Depression Causes and Treatments

Aside from the severe types of depression the main depression causes still come down to circumstance. Despite the fact that these circumstances may cause physical and chemical changes within the brain it is still the circumstances themselves that cause these changes to occur. While these biological causes need to be known to help render affective treatments it is perhaps the individual’s particular circumstances that need to be addressed which is why many treatment options may call for therapy treatments along with medication to find the root cause of the depression and help deal with it. There are some other factors that can help contribute to many cases of depression that are a little easier to address: sunlight, sleep, diet and exercise. Diet and exercise can do a lot to help in dealing with depression which can in turn help lead to better sleep. One of the many symptoms of depression include lack of sleep due to insomnia and with proper diet and exercise this can help to eliminate the symptom and help treat depression. There are other natural remedies available as well. In the end depression causes are still being explored but if you have depression that is lasting for an extended period of time or you have ever considered suicide then you need to seek help as there are options available.