Everyone feels down and blue at some point. Sadness is a normal reaction when coping with a sense of loss, disappointment, rejection, and life struggles. However, not everyone recovers from these feelings. For some people, these feelings are lifelong and life-altering. Depression is a serious mental disorder caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. It interferes with the normal functioning of the brain and causes pain and misery to those suffering from the illness in addition to causing grievance to family and friends of the depressed individual. Depression can be of several types including major depression, chronic depression (dysthymia), bipolar depression, and seasonal depression (seasonal affective disorder or SAD).

Causes and Risk Factors

Some types of depression can be inherited, which indicates that there is a correlation between depression and genetics. According to experts, when genetic vulnerability is compounded by certain external factors, the imbalance in the neurotransmitters of the brain is incited. Imbalance in three neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine) has been identified as a possible cause of depression.

Additional factors that increase the risk of developing depression are stress (at home, work, or school), pessimism, low self-esteem, loss of a close family member or a loved one, loss of job, eating disorder, substance abuse (smoking, alcoholism, drug addiction), financial trouble, trauma (caused by accidents, physical abuse, or sexual abuse), and certain medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and immunological disorder. Some prescription drugs can also cause depression as one of their side effects.