It takes months or even years to cure or manage serious depression, a real mental illness. Every year, millions of Americans feel the symptoms of depression. To make things worse it is estimated that only a third of those who suffer the disease will ever seek treatment. Because depression is considered a mental affliction, many sufferers shy away from seeking help from a doctor. They would rather deal with the problem on their own than risk being stereotyped should they seek assistance. Depression is more common- place than you might think and it will not go away on its own.

So, what causes depression? The answer can get very complicated because you have to take many factors into consideration. There are so many things factored into the cause of this disease. Lets examine some of the most notorious. Many medical professionals believe that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Why does this chemical problem in the brain happen? Generally the causes are internal biological issues, genetic disposition, mental problems but there are external causes as well. There are those inflicted that never really determine what spurned their depression. Depression often follows diagnosis of other medical conditions, particularly those that result in imminent death or are chronic.

Another cause of depression can be the emotional pain felt after losing a loved one. In many cases the loss can be very traumatic. Depression often follows sexual or physical abuse, or emotional attacks. In addition, many cases of depression are given birth by substance abuse, rather it be drugs or alcohol. The mental state of a human can be very fragile depending on their environment and the life events that they have been exposed too. There can also be a genetic element to depression. Those afflicted have a family history of the disease . There are even some prescribed medications that can bring on depression. Studies and tests show a casual relation between many high blood pressure medications and depression.

A major cause of depression is stress. Stress itself is a complex subject with many different causes. It’s not well known, but it’s true, that stress can result from the pressures associated with positive events such as a new, high paying job. People tend to stress when they face the unknown, like a new job or new financial obligations. Arguments with family members, disputes with business clients can both cause stress. There are a great number of people who are stressed from simply trying to perform their jobs to satisfaction and trying to support their families from week to week. Doctors first look for cause when seeking a treatment for depression. It’s important that those who suffer depression get medical help at once.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 at 1:06 AM and is filed under Depression. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.