Causes

Depression is a complex illness with many genetic, psychological and social causes. However, the results and analyses of recent studies suggest that depression is fundamentally a brain disorder, often triggered by external events. 

• Certain genetic factors play a role in creating a chemical imbalance in the brain when a person is experiencing a depression.

• The loss of a loved one, or a deterioration in professional status (e.g., losing a job) or conjugal relations, that lead to lowered self-esteem.

• A physical illness may well lead to depression in an otherwise very active person. Depression then complicates the physical illness which, in getting worse, deepens the depression.