What causes depression?

What we know about what causes depression comes down to three things: our brains, our bodies, and our environment. Truthfully, depression can come from anywhere, and everybody can feel depressed. Experiencing depression from time to time is normal. Feeling depressed about the state of the world is also normal. But there’s a difference between this and clinical depression.

Understanding what could be the cause of your depression takes a bit of reflection and digging into your own life and family history.

How can our life experiences cause depression?

Our life experiences and environments can cause depression. And this is normal and common. Some major life changes or experiences that make us feel depressed include:

• Grief and loss
• A breakup of a relationship or friendship
• Moving
• Graduating
• Experiencing abuse, neglect, or bullying
• Growing up in poverty
• Feeling dissatisfied with life

All of these things cause intense stress and trauma. When bad things happen to us, we can begin to feel hopeless about the future and isolate ourselves from others. This makes our depression worse. Trauma and stress can also change our brains and how we learn to cope with our environment and the people, places, and things around us.

If our life experiences are causing our depression, and even as time has passed, we still feel stuck, then we need to reach out for support. For some people, when a stressful situation in life ends, they feel better. But for others, their depression continues and may be a sign of clinical depression. Talking to a mental health professional can help you determine if you are experiencing a temporary depressive episode or if it is something else.

If you aren’t ready to talk to a mental health professional, then you can start by taking our depression test. While it’s not an official diagnosis, it can help you understand your experiences. It may also be helpful to learn all you can about depression by reading and researching online and hearing other people’s stories.

How can our brains and bodies cause depression?

While many people think of depression as a mental health condition, our mental and physical health are connected. What happens with our brains and bodies can often lead to depression. There are many different factors, including genes and family history, physical health, and medications, that could play a role in our depression.

Your family history, physical health, and depression

Depression and other physical and mental health conditions that cause depression often run in families. If someone in your family experienced clinical depression, then there’s a greater chance that you could experience depression, too. Depression is also a symptom and can co-occur with other mental health conditions like anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and others.

Also, depression can be caused by physical health conditions like autoimmune disorders, heart disease, cancer, thyroid disorders, and diabetes. All of these conditions can be genetic—meaning that if someone in your family has it, then you are at a higher risk for having it too. But it doesn’t mean that you will develop these conditions.

Ask yourself:

• Does anyone in my family have depression or any other mental health condition?
• Does anyone in my family have a physical health condition (like cancer, diabetes, a thyroid disorder, autoimmune disease, or heart disease)?
• Does anyone in my family have a substance use disorder or addiction?
• If anyone in my family has a mental health condition, what helped them?

Asking yourself these questions can help you understand your risk of developing depression. And give you a place to start when thinking about treating the root cause of your depression.

If you think that your physical health is causing depression, then it’s important to work with your doctor. They can run tests and help you figure out what’s going on. And rule out any physical conditions that might be causing your depression. Many people find that if their depression is caused by a physical condition, then treating that condition often helps with the depression too.

What we put in our bodies

What we put into our bodies—food, nutrition, medications, and substances—can also lead to depression. For example, a lack of access to good, nutritious food and not getting enough vitamins can cause dysregulation between our brains and bodies.

Depression is also a common side effect of many different types of medications. So, if you’ve started a new medication or changed medications lately and think this may be the cause of your depression, then it’s important to talk to your doctor. They can help you taper off or find an alternative medication.

There are many things that cause depression. Thinking about your past experiences, family history, and physical health can help you find the cause of your depression. And this can help you figure out your next steps and how to feel better.

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