Are you feeling depressed for no reason? It might be the case that you are going through a major depressive disorder. Depression is a complicated mental disease and perhaps a simple answer to what causes sadness. But it is much more complex than that. Depression is more than just an unhappy feeling at the end of the day. It is now considered to be a major mood disorder that causes persistent feelings of sadness and loss of interest. It isn’t just a weakness that you can “snap out” of but is a dangerous affliction, which has serious consequences. A single cause cannot be pointed out no matter how critical and specific that cause is sometimes, depression is caused by a range of different factors and requires long-term treatment. The Inland Empire Behavioral Group is here to help you properly understand the symptoms and causes of depression and how it can be treated properly.
What is Depression?
Depression is a constant state of sadness, where you perpetually don’t have a way to get out of that continuous state of melancholy, which is also called Major Depressive Disorder. This can hinder the everyday life of the affected individual once triggered. Commonly, people suffering from this type of depression ask themselves, “Is it possible to feel sad without any reason?”. Triggers are numerous and can include:
- Bereavement or loss of a loved one (i.e. through divorce)
- Social isolation
- Major events (even positive ones such as marriage)
- Serious mental or physical illness
- Certain types of medications
What Are Some of the Major Causes of Depression?
There is no single cause of depression because it can arise due to a range of different causes for everyone. These can range from biological to circumstantial while there can also be physical causes of depression. So, trying to pinpoint one single cause is an impossible undertaking.
Depression in children, adolescents or adults can develop due to:
- Genetics
- Childhood trauma
- Neglect in childhood and adulthood
- Fluctuations in hormones (especially for women)
- Substance abuse (risk is high during withdrawal)
- Unrelieved pain for an extended period of time
- Brain structure (riskier for people with bigger frontal lobe)
Causes of depression can also be economy-related, mental, and cultural:
- Socioeconomic status: Depression is much more prevalent in people with lower socioeconomic status due to their perceived lower standing and lower opportunities provided to them.
- Gender identity: Someone on the higher spectrum of gender dysmorphia is a known cause of depression. People who feel that their gender is mismatched with what was assigned to them during birth can put them at higher risk of depression.
- Sexual orientation: People who are closeted tend to be at higher risk of developing depression.
- Mental health issues: Pre-existing mental health problems can also pertain to the onset of depression. The duress and anxiety of the affected individual are sky-high, putting them at risk of depression.
Some of these factors of depression lead to its diagnosis when at least two of them strike together, for example, someone from a lower socioeconomic background also has a family history of depression, which will paint them as one of the most major causes of depression
Symptoms
Symptoms manifest differently in children, adolescents and adults and similar to that, differently in men and women. If you or your loved ones exhibit these symptoms common to depression consistently for two weeks or more, it’s time to consult with a mental health expert:
- Long episodes of crying and wailing
- Disinterest in almost everything
- Insomnia or other sleep disturbances
- Lack of energy
- Reduced appetite
- Fluctuations in weight loss
- Agitation and anger outbursts
- Increased anxiety and restlessness
- Trouble focusing and concentrating on tasks
What Are The Different Types of Depression?
While there are many different types of depression disorders in existence and might be one of the answers to your question, “Why is depression increasing?”, the most common is “Major Depressive Disorder”, so let’s begin with that:
Major Depressive Disorder
While it may be the most common one, it is also the most severe form of depression. It is categorized by symptoms such as impulsivity, suicidal behavior, low self-esteem, fatigue, inability to focus, low appetite, and loss of interest. Your mental health practitioner might diagnose this type of depression if you exhibit five or more symptoms like these.
Anxious Distress
You feel stressed and restless most of the time. You are unable to focus, even on a single task because you think something bad will happen or if something is not in your control, it won’t work.
Melancholy
These are extremely intense feelings of sadness, due to which you lose interest in the same activities you used to enjoy previously. Even when good things happen, you tend to stay sad. In addition to this, you feel so sad without reason that you actually feel hopeless. You also tend to lose weight because you have no appetite, have poor sleep hygiene, and consistently have suicidal thoughts when suffering from Melancholy.
Persistent Depressive Disorder
If you have been suffering from depression for more than 2 years, it is called Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD). This used to be two previously known yet different depression-related disorders called dysthymia and chronic major depression, both of which have been combined into one. You may notice fluctuations in:
– Appetite
– Sleep cycles
You may also notice that:
– You have low self-esteem
– You have fatigue
– You feel hopelessness
– You are having trouble staying rational
Bipolar Disorder
Someone with Bipolar disorder can be considered to have “manic depression”. In this type of disorder, people have moods that fall on different extremes of the spectrum with one being highly energetic and motivated and the other being an extremely low “depressive” one. When you are in the low phase, you’ll likely face the symptoms majorly associated with Major Depressive Disorder.
Psychotic Depression
People suffering from this type of mental illness combine depression with psychosis, where the affected person feels the usual symptoms of depression with those of psychosis:
– Hallucinations
– Delusions
– Paranoia
Prenatal Depression
As the name suggests, prenatal depression is specifically depression in women who are pregnant, which causes them extreme sadness. Fluctuations in hormonal levels due to pregnancy can lead to changes in mood, which can lead to depression that lasts longer than a few days. Treatment is needed to improve the symptoms. This is especially common in pregnant women who have:
– A history of mental illness
– Have a stressful life
– Been carrying a child with health issues
– Been expecting twins or triplets
– Had previous pregnancy problems
Postpartum Depression
Women who have had a major depression issue in the week or months following childbirth have Postpartum Depression (PPD). This type of depression is much more severe than the baby blues people already know about. Women with postpartum depression have difficulty bonding with their babies and living life normally.
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is considered to be one of the causes of depression that strikes women only. In addition to that, it is also a type of depression that arises in women a week to two weeks before the start of their period. When compared to premenstrual syndrome (PMS), it is more severe and interferes with everyday life, whose symptoms gradually decrease as the period starts.
In addition to the usual symptoms of depression, women with PMDD frequently complain about:
– Mood swings
– Irritability
– Elevated stress and anxiety
– Trouble focusing and making decisions
– Tiredness
– Fluctuations in appetite and sleeping habits
Treating Depression
Depression-related symptoms can be managed with one or a combination of treatments that you can read about below:
Medication
A mental health professional may advise you to take prescribed antidepressants that specifically target Serotonin, a chemical produced by the nerve cells to regulate mood, feelings, and emotions in the human body. Alternative antidepressants are also available in case the usual ones fail.
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
You can take help from our experts, who can prescribe medication for depression of any kind. One of these is Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressant, which treat depression by increasing the uptake of the neurotransmitter Serotonin in your brain. To avoid having any side effects, avoid these when taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) or something like thioridazine or Orap (pimozide). A pregnant woman should talk to her healthcare professional first before taking the risk of ingesting SSRIs during pregnancy.
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs)
These are the antidepressants that are used in case all other types of treatments or antidepressants have failed in relieving depression. These specifically target the chemical processes in the brain known for causing depression. It is not prescribed in the first go because of its high risk side-effects such as dangerously high-levels of blood pressure. Mental health experts usually impose dietary restrictions and instructions on the dosage to avoid complications.
Psychotherapy
A therapist or psychiatrist provides good support for your swift mental health recovery as they help you cope with negative feelings such as the ones that are caused by depression, a mental health disorder. Psychotherapy can be defined as an arrangement where a trained mental health professional teaches you to cope with factors that are causing depression. It is frequently used in unison with medication to treat people with depression. Three of the most common therapies that can be used for treating depression:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
It is a type of psychotherapy where a mental health professional will try to unearth and identify unhealthy patterns of thought processes in your psyche that may be causing harmful behaviors, negative feelings, and exaggerated beliefs about yourself. This is the type of therapy where a mental health expert might assign you “homework” that helps you replace your negative thought processes with positive ones.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
Similar to CBT, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) specifically emphasizes validation, accepting negative feelings, thoughts, and behaviors rather than fighting them. It aids in your recovery through helping you come to terms with your negative thought processes.
Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)
It is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on defining how your relationships and emotions are interconnected and how follow-up social interactions affect your mental health. IPT is extremely suitable when it comes to depression that stems from interpersonal relationships.
Lifestyle Changes
Lifestyle changes combined with the treatments highlighted above are highly complementary. Some of these are listed below:
Exercise:
Exertion that exercises your body helps the body produce its natural antidepressant. Exercising just for a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes a day, and three to five days a week is enough to build resilience against stimuli that causes depression. It can help:
- Reduce anxiety
- Improve mood
- Decrease your dependency on synthetic antidepressants
- Improve restful sleep
- Boost self-esteem
Meditation:
It can help with the anxiety that accompanies other causes of depression. It can also help you calm your nerves, so you can get better sleep habits, decrease stress, and keep focus away from sadness brought by depression.
Sleep:
The absence of or low quality of sleep is one the most common causes of depression but improving it can help with decreasing the instances of other symptoms.
Conclusion
Depression is a serious mental health condition for which treatment should be sought immediately. We have discussed all the common causes of depression and have given the answers to your questions like, “Why am I feeling depressed for no reason?”, “What is the reason for depression?”, and “Why is depression increasing?” As now you are knowledgeable about the things that cause depression, you also know now why you should swiftly seek help for it. Inland Empire Behavioral Group, which is a premier mental health service provider, can help you link up with mental health experts who are adept at treating the factors that cause depression. Additionally, we also provide virtual services like telepsychiatry that can treat issues like depression and other mental health disorders.
