About Depression - Causes and Treatment
Depression is more than just feeling down or sad from time to time. In people with clinical depression, they experience these feelings intensely, or for prolonged periods of time. While depression can be triggered by a particular life changing event, it can also occur for no apparent reason.
Depression is a common condition affecting many people. Depression has no single cause and is often the result of a combination of things. The illness can interfere with many areas of one's life, including work and family life. This can become very distressing not only to the person experiencing depression, but to their family and others around them.
For information on depression symptoms and types, please see the Depression Symptoms and Types page.
Causes of depression
Depression can be caused by recent or longer-term events, or can be prompted by personal risk factors including:
- Learned behaviours
- Personality type
- Environmental factors
- Abuse of alcohol and other drugs
- Biochemical factors
Learned behaviours
Behaviours that have been learned through a family history of depression may be one of the causes for someone developing the illness. Research indicates that there are some people who have a predisposition towards developing depression because of their family history. However, if a parent or close relative has suffered from the illness, it does not automatically mean that a person will develop depression, but the risk can be higher. For those individuals who have a family history and go on to develop depression themselves, it is usually triggered by a stressful life event or chronic illness.
Personality Type
Evidence suggests that a person who has a particular personality type maybe more susceptible to developing depression. There are many different personality types that are included in this evaluation, including individuals who are highly anxious, who are perfectionists, are hyper sensitive to criticism, or are self-critical. These individuals all have a higher risk of developing depression. However, just because an individual has a certain personality type does not necessarily mean that they will develop the illness. There are other factors that contribute to someone developing depression, such as environmental factors and biochemical factors.
Environment Factors
Environmental factors which lead to the development of a chronic medical condition including depression usually stem from stressful live events. It is very common for most people to experience some level of low mood following a stressful event, but for some people it can trigger depression. For example, a relationship break-up, loss of employment, the death of someone close, a move interstate or starting a family are all situations where people can experience a low mood. However, for some people this low mood will persist and lead to clinical depression. Research indicates that the life events most likely to put a person at higher risk for depression are those that impact on the person's self-esteem, such as experiencing a relationship breakdown or a financial or job loss.
Abuse of alcohol and other drugs
A person’s risk of developing depression can be increased because of abuse of alcohol and other drugs. Research indicates that the frequency and amount of alcohol and other drugs that an individual consumes can have a negative impact on their mood. For example, if an individual is drinking alcohol daily in excess of the recommended intake then they might struggle to function at work, have difficulties with memory and experience relationship problems. These problems can build over time and result in the development of clinical depression.
Biochemical factors
There is evidence to suggest that depression may be associated with a chemical imbalance in the brain. In a person suffering from depression, it is believed that the neurotransmitters that affect a person's mood, including serotonin, are disrupted. This means that that the chemicals that carry signals from one part of the brain to the next are not performing normally.
Treating depression
Depression can be successfully treated, even for those with severe depression. However, many people suffering from the illness do not seek treatment. It is important to seek effective treatment for depression sooner rather than later as untreated depression can become chronic or recurrent.
Depression treatment is centred around discovering the source of the problem, and helping the individual to find meaning and acceptance of events that have contributed to the depression. However, sometimes it seems as though there is no apparent source of the problem. Treatments for depression therefore also focus on shifting unhelpful thought patterns and behaviour patterns.
Depending on the type of depression an individual has, depression help may be given through a combination of treatments including:
- Psychological treatment
- Development of strategies for lifestyle changes
- Education
- Medication, if agreed by a medical practitioner
These treatments are described further below.
Psychological treatment
Psychological treatment, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy and interpersonal therapy, may be used in the treatment of depression. These psychological treatments are evidence based treatments. Below is a short description of these three forms of psychological treatment. There are also a number of other psychological treatments that are not discussed below.
- Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) assists individuals by providing strategies to change negative thinking patterns and behaviours that contribute to depression. CBT also aims to assist individuals to identifying ways of lessening the underlying sensitivity to future episodes of depression.
- Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT) provides depression help to individuals by learning new ways of effectively handling the pain and stress that life inevitably brings. ACT teaches individuals the psychological skills needed to deal with painful thoughts and feelings effectively. ACT approaches this in two ways. Firstly, it aims to reduce the impact painful thoughts and feelings have over individuals, utilising mindfulness skills to assist in this process. Secondly, ACT assists by helping individuals clarify what is important and meaningful to them by exploring their values, then using that knowledge to motivate individuals to change their life for the better.
- Interpersonal therapy (IPT) is based on the belief that interpersonal factors may contribute to psychological problems. It can be used to help understand the effects of interpersonal relationships on emotions. IPT is a supportive psychotherapy that focuses on the interactions between people and the development of a person's depression symptoms. IPT is time-limited and focuses on building interpersonal skills.
Development of strategies for lifestyle changes
The psychologist will help the client develop strategies to assist them in developing lifestyle changes. There are many ways that an individual can make significant lifestyles changes. For example, there is evidence to show that increasing activity levels and participating in pleasurable activities can help reduce depressive symptoms. This may be in the form of regular exercise routines or participating in a hobby. Other lifestyles changes that can help reduce depressive symptoms include reducing the use of alcohol and other drugs, as well as making changes in sleeping and eating patterns.
Education
Education plays a big role in the treatment of depression in order to dispel any fears and myths that people commonly have about the illness. It is important that an individual is aware of what depression is and what is involved in the treatment of their illness. The more information an individual has regarding their illness, the greater the chance of reducing the depressive symptoms and living a more fulfilling life.
Medication
Research has shown that there is a difference in brain chemicals and functioning associated with depression. If agreed by a medical practitioner, anti-depressant medications may be used to assist to restore the functioning of the brain’s chemicals and improve mood. Other medication may also be required to help manage mood swings, such as for bipolar mood disorder.
For more information about depression, visit the following websites:
www.beyondblue.org.au
www.bluepages.anu.edu.au
www.sane.org/information/factsheets/depression.html
www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/public/depression/depressionexplained/index.cfm
www.depressionservices.org.au
How Life Resolutions can help
Life Resolutions has a network of qualified psychologists who are experienced in treatment of depression. We can provide depression help to people of all ages, including adults, adolescents and children.
Visit the Contact Us page to make an appointment.