Depression is a mood disorder characterized by feelings of sadness, emptiness, loss, or anger that interfere with your everyday activities. Feeling down or sad is a normal part of life, but if you regularly notice these emotions, you may be experiencing depression.
At The TMS Center of New Jersey, we can help you manage your depression symptoms. Naturally, many people are also curious about the causes of depression. This condition can stem from a variety of factors, ranging from biological to environmental.
Depression is a serious medical illness affecting more than 16 million American adults every year, 6.7% of all U.S. adults¹. Often a debilitating disorder, depression results in a persistent state of sadness or loss of interest or pleasure, which interferes with an individual’s thoughts, behavior, mood, and physical health.
In 2010, the economic burden of depression was estimated at $210 billion in the US, and depression was the second leading cause of disability, accounting for almost 20% of all years of life lost to disability and premature death.
Depression can be a life-threatening illness. According to the CDC’s WISQARS Leading Causes of Death Reports, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death in the United States in 2017, claiming the lives of more than 47,000 people. Research indicates that approximately 60% of individuals who die by suicide suffer from depression. Overall, women are almost twice as likely as men to experience depression, although many experts believe depression in men is significantly under-reported. Depression affects people of all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Additionally, about two-thirds of those who experience one episode of depression will go on to have another at some point in their lives.
While the exact cause of depression is not known, the leading scientific theory is that depression is caused by decreased activity in the neural networks of the brain that regulate emotion and motivation. Increasing levels of neurotransmitters in the brain has been found to reactivate these neural networks, or create new networks. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that send signals between brain cells. Depression is most often treated with antidepressant medications. It is believed that antidepressant medications work by increasing the levels of these neurotransmitters.
More than 4 million patients do not receive adequate benefit from antidepressants and/or cannot tolerate the side effects caused by them. For these patients, they need different options to feel better.
Depression can occur for many reasons, and these can vary from person to person. Our providers at The TMS Center of New Jersey can help you identify and understand the potential causes of your depression. This is one of the first steps in treating this condition, helping you to fully reengage with your life.
One of the leading theories about the cause of depression is decreased activity in the parts of the brain that regulate emotion and motivation. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that send signals between brain cells. Research has found that increasing neurotransmitter levels in the brain can reactivate these neural networks or create new networks.
Depression is most often treated with antidepressant medications. It is believed that these medications work by increasing neurotransmitter levels. TMS therapy also increases these levels, helping patients who may not respond to traditional treatment methods manage their symptoms.
Individuals with reduced activity in the frontal lobe are at greater risk for depression; however, researchers are unsure whether this occurs before or after the onset of depressive symptoms.
While no specific gene is associated with depression, research has found that you are more likely to experience the condition if a close family member has been affected. This may be a result of biology, the environment we grow up in, or a combination of both.
Research has found that individuals who experience trauma as children are more likely to develop depression later in life. Typical traumatic experiences include grief, neglect, and abuse. These experiences can impact your self-esteem and shape how you respond to stressful situations and difficult emotions, which may make it difficult to cope with life’s challenges and lead to depression during adulthood.
Some people may experience depression after a stressful or traumatic event as a teen or adult, such as grief, abuse, relationship difficulties, financial stress, or significant life changes. How you cope with these events—as well as the strength of your support system—can also impact your risk of developing depression.
Changes in estrogen and progesterone during the menstrual cycle, postpartum period, perimenopause, or menopause can all raise your risk of experiencing depression.
Certain thought patterns—such as self-blame or consistently dwelling on the same negative event—can increase your likelihood of developing depression.
If you have other mental health conditions, such as anxiety or PTSD, it is common to also experience depression. It may be possible to focus treatment on multiple mental health disorders, with the goal of providing effective relief from your symptoms.
Those who experience emotional or chronic pain for extensive periods are more likely to develop depression.
Living with depression can be overwhelming, but you do not have to face it alone. Our team at The TMS Center of New Jersey is here to help you better understand the causes of depression. From there, we can develop a personalized treatment plan to help you find relief. Call us today to schedule a consultation.
