Causes of Depression
Depression is known to be the prolonged period of time a person feels intense sadness and lack of joy throughout the day.
According to the World Health Organization, the numbers show that every year close to 800 000 individuals lose their lives to suicide and contemplating suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year old individuals.
While we are taught to believe that depression has to do with our genetics or chemical imbalance in the body, what depression really is is a result of the community we live in.
Causes of Depression:
1. Failing to follow your heart’s desire
What was it that you loved to do when you were a child?
We were often told between the age of 7 - 14 years old that our dreams were too big for us, not practical, not achievable ie. who are we to even think about it. It is at the age where we start to absorb the opinions and influence of the external society that we learn what is rationally possible and what is “pure imagination or fantasy of the future”.
These limiting beliefs were introduced to us without us even realizing.
Solution: What lights your soul or sparks your interest? What activities make you feel alive? Do more of those. You need not switch careers all of a sudden but you can learn a new hobby that can make your day to day or week to week experience more enjoyable.
2. Unkind, damaging, critical words we hear and say to ourselves repeatedly
We are often our greatest critics. Criticizing ourselves with words we would never lash onto our friends and family can hurt us more than we imagine. Now think of a day in your life, what sort of conversation do you have throughout the day? Are they encouraging and supportive or are they diminishing and judgmental?
Solution: Notice the times you mention harsh words about yourself, minimize them or flip them over.
Use words such as silly that are humorous or that cannot be easily comprehended. Doing so, your mind will not be able to process it negatively.
Acknowledge that you are doing your best in every experience and be your cheerleader. Our minds are wired to move us towards what is familiar and away from what is unfamiliar.
It is your job to live a happy life, make criticism unfamiliar and cheers familiar.
3. Disconnection
Unlike the times our grandparents or earlier generations live in, we live in an era where disconnection is an epidemic itself. While we have increased connection through online platforms with more people, the irony is in the feeling that we find ourselves being more isolated and distant from the people we love. Usual discussions at family dinners have now been replaced with the noise from television or the dings and pings from our mobile devices.
Solution: Set rules at gathering tables or events to be respectful of each other's company.
Send appreciative and encouraging text at random times to the people you love.
Compliment others like it is your second nature, in giving to others we are also doing ourselves a service of making ourselves feel better.
It is your birthright and it is important that you feel a sense of belonging, and have a meaning to life.
Understanding mental health issues allows us to be a better support system for ourselves and for our loved ones. Never would we want our close relatives or friends to be in a depressed state.
Share this post with a close family, friend or colleague - someone you think can use a little reminder and learn the above coping strategies to support them living with more joy and ease in life. Let’s commit to being kind to ourselves and others.
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
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