There are many possible causes of depression, and research has focused in on a few key psychological factors that contribute to people feeling depressed.
This clip discusses those contributors or causes of depression.
Welcome back, this is Dr. Matt B with your Emotional Minutes. In the last episode we discussed how to tell if you are depressed. Today we’re talking about what causes depression. Every once in a while I am asked what causes people to become depressed or why someone feels depressed.
I often say that everyone is different and has different experiences in life. Not to mention that life can be very complicated. Because of this, what causes depression for one person may not be the cause for someone else.
Here are two pathways to depression often seen in research and research literature.
Losing a Sense of Reward, Purpose, and Meaning
The first pathway concerns how people lose a sense of reward, purpose, or meaning in their lives. Often, this happens when people lose contact with activities, behaviors, or things they like to do. These activities are ‘you things’. Maybe this is planting in your garden, or hitting the gym, or going on a hike. Maybe there are certain types of work you get enjoyment from, like repairing cars or fixing things in the garage.
As you stop engaging in your ‘things’, you start to have less interest in doing them. But, as you are losing interest, you are also losing the opportunity to get a sense of enjoyment from them. This can prevent you from feeling like yourself.
Patterns of Negative Thoughts
The second pathway is how people fall into patterns of negative thinking. This includes negative thoughts about themselves or situations in their day-to-day lives. Also, they may believe that the worst outcome is always going to happen.
This can lead them to feel depressed because they start to see the world as a negative and difficult place. They might start to feel discouraged and down. In addition, beliefs that they are a negative person or unworthy can also develop.
When You Feel Both
Experiencing one or both of the pathways can create a barrier to pursuing life goals or things you value. For example, it can get in the way of building or enjoying connections with friends, family, or other loved ones. Consequently, people begin to experience depressed mood or other symptoms of depression.
I want to say again that there are a number of ways depression can occur. Again, everybody’s different and everybody has different life situations.
