According to the National Institute of Mental Health, or NIMH, major depressive disorder affects approximately 6.7 percent of the U.S. population over age 18. The primary signs of depression are hopelessness, helplessness and a sense of futility. Biological, psychological, social, spiritual and economic factors can intensify those feelings. Recognizing the triggers of worsening depression may lower its most serious side effect--the 33,000 suicides that occur in the U.S. each year.
Physical Causes of Worsening Depression
All forms of depression are physiologic at their core. Depression is caused by changes in the neurotransmitters that regulate mood. A genetic predisposition to resilience has been demonstrated, as have familial patterns of vulnerability, and this is a chemical factor. An article in the May 18, 2010, issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders notes that "resilience moderates the affect of traumas and other perceived threats."
Dehydration, sleep deprivation or excessive sleep, a diet too high in carbohydrates and devoid of protein, and the lack of exposure to adequate sunlight are listed by the NIMH as physical causes of depression. Hormone imbalances such as those that occur with menstruation, menopause or pregnancy can also deepen depression, as can many medications.
Psychological Causes of Worsening Depression
A punitive parenting style, where whatever the child does is never sufficient has been linked to a decreased sense of optimism throughout life as has parental pessimism, according to the work of Dr. Martin Seligman. In his book, "The Optimistic Child: Proven Program to Safeguard Children from Depression & Build Lifelong Resilience" he reviews 20 years of research in the area of optimistic children and concludes that parenting style can deeply influence the development of optimism or pessimism, regardless of the genetic predisposition.
Anxiety is a co-factor that can worsen depression by making the person feel less in control of life and less able to imagine the outcome of various options. Constance Hamman, a clinical psychologist at the University of California at Los Angeles concludes in her submission to the 2005 Annual Review of Clinical Psychology that depression is intensified by anxiety because the individual becomes more reactive to stressors and because anxiety lowers the tolerance threshold. Hamman notes that cumulative stressors, especially "dependent stress" caused by the individual's own actions, pose a greater threat of depression than do single, situational stressors. Loss, through death, termination of employment, a move far away from family and friends, the giving up of a home or the death of a pet all contribute to high levels of depression, according to the sources Hammon cites in her review.
Social and Economic Causes of Worsening Depression
Social and economic causes of depression are often interrelated. The effect of job termination or other, serious economic loss is largely controlled by the value these factors have in comparison to the person's overall sense of self-worth. Researchers writing in the April 2002 issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology studied the chain of events that followed the loss of employment. They found predictable patterns of marital discord, the loss of transportation resulting in increased isolation, increased substance abuse and other depression triggers. Like job loss, incarceration has a domino effect in the lives of the 2.3 million Americans living behind bars and their families. Dr. Ellen Weber noted in her Winter 2006 article for Canada's Mensa Magazine that "depression limits creativity and critical problem solving, decreasing the ability to connect actions and consequences." Depression works against achievement of goals, but it is achievement of goals that combats hopelessness, helplessness and futility.
References
- NIMH: The Numbers Count
- Journal of Affective Disorders: Moderating Effects of Resilience on Depression in Individuals with a History of Childhood Abuse or Trauma Exposure
- "The Optimistic Child: Proven Program to Safeguard Children from Depression & Build Lifelong Resilience"; Martin Siligman, PhD; 1995
- Annual Review of Clinical Psychology: Stress and Depression
- Journal of Occupational Health Psychology: Links in the Chain of Adversity Following Job Loss: How Financial Strain and Loss of Personal Control Lead to Depression
