What Causes Depression?
I’m wondering: Do you ever get overwhelmed “by it all” piling up on you?
According to the American Psychiatric Association, 80-90% of people with depression benefit from therapy for depression.
Learn how you and I can work on this here and here.
Living With A Daily Struggle
When it comes to living with depression, a lot of people say it can feel like living under the shadow of a curse or something.
Bad things keep happening over and over. Maybe you keep working up the grit to “try to make things better,” but you stop before you even try. Or it could be you did reach out to someone but they do not offer professional help and trained perspective to you.
Worst of all… maybe you feel like you’re being a burden on other people whenever you have “gone for it.” Like I said, this is living with a daily struggle.
Let’s move on to a major reason why so many people with depression go through so much hardship in life…
… and what you can do to start to break “the curse” and free yourself.
Do You Inherit Depression?
We can start with one simple, scientific fact:
(And the good news is… it’s a fact I think you’ll find comforting, if not now then maybe later…)
The fact is:
40% of the time, a person’s struggle to “get better” from depression is not about mistakes… or how much was lost… or even being so distressed that other people get worried.
Truth is, 40% of the time, the “curse” of depression is rooted in one thing:
What someone inherits from family and ancestors!
Chances are, if someone is depressed it’s because they’ve got 40% heritability.
Depression runs in families that “often inherit” negative thinking styles, among other challenges.
In fact, scientists found a gene called 5-HTT that’s connected to getting depressed.
That’s right, I think you see where I’m going with this…
Most people who feel depression have no control over it at all…
And the deeper cause might be…
Their “depression wiring” is switched on.
And hopefully this comes as a relief to you, because it’s much easier to start letting go of what was unavoidable and beyond our control.
(SIDENOTE: I want to say just because someone in your family has depression which made it more likely for you to get it doesn’t necessarily mean you will. And also, you can have depression or anxiety while the rest of your family does not.)
With all those things in mind, let’s get to how you can start now to break free and start living a life of managed depression.
Does A Family History Of Depression Matter?
Yes. If, for example, a parent struggles with depression… then a child’s chances to develop depression increase 3 times.
Kids who grow up in households with depression, abuse, fighting, and neglect are likely to experience depression as adults. But it’s not the entire story.
The most basic way to put it is by emphasizing one thing:
People won’t necessarily get depressed unless they also experience triggers in the outside world.
Let me say that one more time:
People won’t necessarily get depressed unless they also experience triggers in the outside world.
And now let me come at it another way:
If you don’t experience a set of “circumstances”… a set that triggers your inherited “depression genetics”… they stay off.
That’s why maybe you’ve seen other people recover so fast it hurt your head. Or they suffer the same injuries you do with no experience of depression. Ever noticed that?
Now this does present a dilemma…
If you don’t have a nourishing environment, then efforts to “get better” are more likely to fail. But if your efforts to “get better” don’t work, how can you get the environment you need?
It’s a great question. And maybe a point of contention. Here’s what scientists are finding:
Epigenetic studies show that people who suffer just a few “external or environmental” triggers get their genes switched on or off.
Could this mean something for depression?
Maybe some triggers can make you feel an intense, instant despair. But more importantly, some feel like they could be changed. Almost modified.
It might not seem very likely to happen at all…
Interact with your environment a different way, and you’ll feel a little better?
Well, that’s the area of depression treatment I always find fascinating… and what I see as an opportunity for you to get started today at breaking the “curse.”
Turns out when your environment activates your genes in just a few specific ways… this means you can instantly change your environment (in small ways!) to change how you feel, too.
That’s when you start managing your depression. You’ll feel you’re managing because of the sense of control that changing your environment instantly creates.
If you list the smallest things you’ve accomplished today, you can start to imagine a new world for yourself where you do have choice over what you experience in your life…
… and in your future.
Long-term, what I’m describing takes a mix of “existential” and “cognitive” forms of depression treatment—the kind of therapy for depression I’d like to offer you.
And the really valuable thing is, working with a depression therapist this way helps you on 2 levels at the same time… a direct look at your thoughts and a deep dive into your ways of living.
You can learn more about how (and why) that will help by reaching out to me.
Find out more about Depression Treatment.
About The Author
John Younes, JD, MA, LPCC, NCC is a trained counselor who owns a private practice in Denver, CO. In general, he specializes in depression treatment and anxiety treatment using existential and cognitive therapy practices.
One last thing: if you’re thinking about suicide and are in immediate danger, please call your local emergency number… so for Denver, Colorado, call 1-844-493-8255 or text TALK to 38255. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.