Depression isn’t a condition with a single cause. We can pinpoint the cause of many viral and bacterial diseases. Not so with depression. In fact, one of the most common phrases I’ve seen in my research is, “The precise cause of depression is not known…”

That’s very encouraging, isn’t it?

What is known is that there are a number of factors that can be involved. They include heredity, physiology, psychological factors, life conditions, medical conditions, nutrition, addictive behaviors, close proximity to a severely depressed person, chronic stress, social isolation…

The good news is that it appears that a combination of one or two, or even three, of those factors usually doesn’t result in major depression.

The brain is an amazing organ. It is very resilient. It has tremendous power to absorb injury and still do its job. That’s one reason why one specific cause doesn’t result in depression. The brain works around it. If there are enough different causes, though, overload can result. That result can be depression.

So–depression can be both a symptom of underlying causes, and it can actually be a cause of other disorders. Wonderful, eh?

Let’s look at some of the causes:

Hereditary–genetics, in other words. It is evident that depression can run in families. Luckily, just because one of your parents or grandparents suffered from depression doesn’t automatically mean that you will too. You’re more likely to, but heredity doesn’t appear to be a single root cause of depression, merely a risk factor. In the future, you may be able to visit a doctor and get a DNA test to see if you’re at risk for depression. We’re not there yet.

Development–past life history, or how you were raised. This can include things like severe sexual abuse, not being raised by both biological parents, traumatic experiences, childhood nutrition, or a history of depression in adolescence. Developmental issues can sometimes be dealt with through intervention-type therapies like NLP, Time-line therapy, and others.

Lifestyle–irregular or nonexistent exercise, lack of exposure to daylight for at least to 30 minutes a day (affects seratonin levels), lack of fresh air (not being outdoors–stale air). Other factors in this area can be insomnia, too little (less than 6 hours) or too much (more than 9 hours) of sleep, irregular sleep or eating schedules, ’shift work’–work hour patterns that don’t correspond with daylight and dark.

Addictions–addictions to drugs, including prescription and non-prescription drugs, tobacco, alcohol, even caffeine, can be a factor for increased risk of depression.

Nutrition–one of the most overlooked causative factors in depression. Over-processed foods, junk foods, processed sugars, lack of a nutritionally balanced diet. A curiosity: carbohydrates can increase serotonin levels in the brain. Sugars are carbs. That’s why eating chocolate can make you feel better! The catch is that like blood-sugar levels, the serotonin levels don’t hold up.

Toxicity–high levels of lead, mercury, bismuth, arsenic and other toxic chemicals can have a pronounced effect on depression.

Medical conditions–just what it says. Chronic pain, debilitating disease, chronic medical conditions such as paralysis–all these and more can contribute to depression.

Social grief–this becomes a cause of clinical depression when the grieving process is short-circuited or when a person just doesn’t ‘get over’ the grief, whether it’s the death of a loved one or some other grief-causing event.

A mild disclaimer: I am not, nor have I ever been, a psychiatrist, psychologist, mental health practitioner, or even a health practitioner. The information contained in the following articles is based solely on my own research of online and offline materials, additionally on personal experience with major depression. If, after having thoughtfully read this post, you feel you may be suffering from major or clinical depression, I urge you to seek competent help from a mental health practitioner.

This article is the second third in a series about depression: how it can affect you, ways you can recognize it, and some things you can do about it.

Being afflicted with depression is like living in a perpetually darkened world. It’s not pitch black, but there’s very little sunshine. It’s kind of like the twilight world in a science-fiction fantasy. It’s like being on the path that Frodo and Sam took to deliver the One Ring to Mt. Doom in The Lord of the Rings. The world takes on a gloomy, dark pallor–there’s no cheerfulness or joy, no sense of worth, no sense of purpose. There’s no reason to get up in the morning. Bills? I don’t care right now. Job? Work? Leave me alone. Just leave . me . alone . Why do I even bother?

That’s a picture that many people see every day. For someone who’s never experienced deep depression, it’s hard to understand, hard to comprehend. For those of us who’ve been there or are there, though, it’s all too easy. Some people have dealt with depression for so long they don’t even remember what it’s like to feel happy, to take joy in the little things, to want to function, to be, do or have.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way. If that’s where you are, you don’t have to stay there. You don’t have to live life that way. You can look forward to the new day, smile in the sunshine, smile at a rainy day, be grateful for life, enjoy doing the things you used to do when you were happy. You really can.

So let’s get back to it. In this article, we’re going to delve into a little more detail the symptoms I covered in the previous article, Depression - it really CAN kill you.

A mild disclaimer: I am not, nor have I ever been, a psychiatrist, psychologist, mental health practitioner, or even a health practitioner. The information contained in the following articles is based solely on my own research of online and offline materials, additionally on personal experience with major depression. If, after having thoughtfully read this post, you feel you may be suffering from major or clinical depression, I urge you to seek competent help from a health practitioner.

Remember, these descriptions come from the DSM-IV, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Again, here is the list:

1. deep sadness or a feeling of emptiness or apathy nearly every day for the past 2 weeks or more
2. diminished interest or pleasure in all or nearly all activities for the past 2 weeks or more
3. a decrease or an increase in appetite, causing you to lose or gain more than 5% of your body weight
4. sleep differences of more than 40 minutes from your norm, either more or less
5. agitated or irritated with yourself or others, or physically moving slower than you usually do
6. extreme fatigue or loss of energy
7. feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt, or a feeling that you’re just not useful any more
8. a diminished ability to think or concentrate, or having trouble making everyday decisions. A decrease in your ability to make sound decisions
9. recurrent thoughts of death, or having seriously contemplated hurting someone else. Serious contemplation of or attempting suicide.

Feelings of sadness, emptiness, or apathy - We’re not talking here about just being ’sad’ or ‘lonely’ for a day or two, but pervasive, deep-down feelings of sadness or emptiness for weeks at a time. You may feel that there’s just no use, no reason to go on. You may have periods of crying for no real reason. It seems like the normal every day things in life just don’t matter, that you just don’t care. Cleanliness of your surroundings and personal hygiene can suffer. Bills go unpaid not because money isn’t available, but because you just don’t care whether they get paid or not. Consequences have no meaning.

Diminished interest or pleasure in normal activities - This is somewhat akin to ‘apathy’ above. Nothing seems interesting or fun any more, despite our living in a time when there are more entertaining and fun things to do than ever before. The activities you end up engaging in are those that require little effort: watching TV for hours on end, listening mindlessly to the radio, watching movie after movie on the movie channel not because the movies are interesting, but just as a way to ‘tune out’.

Decrease or increase in appetite - This is just what it says: a change in your normal eating habits. Gorging or starving yourself; eating as a way to make yourself feel better, or not eating because you simply don’t want to.

Difference in sleep patterns - When your sleep pattern varies more than 40 minutes in either direction over a period of time, something happening either physically or mentally. ‘Sleeping in’ on a weekend morning doesn’t count. Sleeping in every day for a solid week does count. Likewise, waking up at 5am one morning after going to bed at midnight isn’t an indicator for depression, but doing that for several days in a row is.

Agitation or irritation directed at yourself or others - Again, ‘normal’ bouts of irritation don’t count. What counts is when you have the feeling that you or the people around you can’t do anything right; that whatever they do irritates you no end. You may be agitated or upset for no reason; the simplest request can cause you to explode. In the same category is moving slower. You may not notice this for yourself, but pay attention when someone close to you remarks that “You’re sure moving a lot slower lately.” There’s no spring in your step; you tend to shuffle instead of walk. You’re slumped over and moving like you’re 90 years old and feeling like it.

Fatigue or loss of energy - Feeling tired all the time, or most of the time, applies here. Maybe you want to do something, but you’re just too tired. You don’t have the energy lately to do much more than the simple things.

Feelings of worthlessness, or excessive or inappropriate guilt - This is a biggie for a lot of people. A general feeling of worthlessness is different than ‘low self-esteem’. Worthlessness can be pictured by thoughts like, “I don’t know why anybody bothers with me. I’m not worth the effort.” Feeling too much guilt over something, or feeling guilty for something that wasn’t your doing is also a symptom. This could be something like feeling that it was ‘all your fault’ because someone who was visiting you got in a car wreck after they left you. If you’d only let them go 5 minutes sooner, when they wanted to…

Diminished ability to think or concentrate - Have you noticed that you’re having difficulty concentrating lately? You start a project, but can’t seem to follow through; your thoughts keep wandering. Decision-making is related. Are you having trouble making decisions? Or, are the decisions you are making logical and correct?

Thoughts of death, hurting another, or suicide - It is natural to think about death. We wonder about it. But we don’t dwell on it for any length of time — it’s just a passing thought. If you find yourself preoccupied or thinking overmuch about death and dying, then it isn’t normal. Also not normal are more than passing thoughts about hurting or injuring another person. We’re not talking normal feelings of anger toward someone. We’re talking about making plans to put this person on the rack and stretch them, or strap them to the table and watch the pendulum come down, or taking them ‘out behind the woodshed’ and inflicting serious physical harm. Mental harm counts, too. If you spend your time reveling in the thoughts of reducing another person to a ball of tearful gibbering mush by what you say to them, that’s a little around the bend also.

The biggie here is suicide. Most people think about suicide occasionally, if only to think about how they would never do something like that. But if it ever comes to the point of you making serious plans, or even attempting it, you’re deep in the danger zone.

NOTICE: please — if you are currently having serious thoughts or plans for suicide, please, please, get in touch with a health practitioner. You can call 1-800-273-TALK (8255), the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a 24-hour, toll-free suicide prevention service available to anyone in suicidal crisis.

In the next article, we’ll look at some of the causes of depression. In later articles, we’ll discover some of the things that can be done to lessen or eliminate depression.

This article is the second in a series about depression: how it can affect you, ways you can recognize it, and some things you can do about it.

I’ve been tagged by Wendy Piersall at eMoms at Home in the latest round of blog-tag: Why Do You Blog?

What’s really interesting is that many people started and continue to blog for some of the same reasons that I have. You can follow the links back starting at Wendy’s post and tracking back to Mike Sansone’s blog, who tagged Wendy before she tagged me.

At first, I saw blogs as a way to generate some income — I wanted to be a pro blogger like Darren  or a personal development guru like Steve Pavlina and make beaucoup bucks sitting at my computer and writing away. That’s what initially got me interested in the sport. That went by the wayside pretty quickly as a primary motivation, though, as I started thinking about what to blog about.

What’s keeping me in the game?

• Feeling that a few people are interested in what I have to say
• Thinking that by relating my experiences, trials, and tribulations, another person can use the lessons of my experiences to improve their own life
• Having a connection to people and places beyond what used to be my own little world
• Learning and experiencing new things that I can then share with others

So, in a nutshell, I write here mostly because of the value I have of trying to help other people. I’ve always been ‘the handyman’ (apologies to James Taylor) to people that I know. People come to me to talk. Who knows why? Maybe because I listen and don’t pass judgment. Maybe because, more than a few times, I’ve been there, done that, and got the bruises.

So that’s why I’m here. Now–why do you take the time and put forth the effort to keep a blog? Tags: Edward Mills •  Rick Cockrum • Joe Hauckes • Tony Clark • Pam