Looking for theories on the cause of depression

[Altostrata]

I so agree, pgd! People now are living in circumstances where they are much more isolated than in times past, and everyone feels the pressure of economic competition.

[Bruci]

On 10/27/2012 at 9:32 PM, basildev said:

I know there are people on this forum who have heaps of knowledge on this subject so would love to hear your theories. Why are some of us more prone to depression than others and what can we do to stay strong? Bear in mind I've had years of counselling and hypnotherapy so I'm pretty self-aware and have no underlying issues that need to be dealt with. So why has is been so hard for me to I stay off the meds long-term?

 

I don't know if this is still relevant 8 years after the question, but one theory of depression is that it caused by early life trauma that imprints the brain into a parasympathetic "shut down" response under stress. See these papers by affective neuroscientist, Jaak Panksepp.  

 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/depressed-your-seeking-sy_b_3616967

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181986/

 

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:s8uBNhuDx74J:https://www.amnh.org/content/download/94390/1869209/file/Panksepp%202011%20Why%20does%20depression%20hurt%20%20diminished%20brain%20reward%20(SEEKING)%20processes%20in%20the%20genesis%20of%20depressive%20affect.pdf+&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca&client=safari

 

[SertralineAnxiety]

I used to believe that mental health problems were caused by past traumas. Now I believe it is mainly our artificial lifestyle that creates physically and mentally unhealthy people.  Of course past experiences play a big role in shaping our character. But nowadays every aspect of our lives is lived in a way that doesn't meet our needs. How can we be resilient when every part of our life is broken? 

Everything is trauma to the system from start to finish. It starts with a hospital birth, artificial bottle feeding, detached parenting, processed food, artificial sights and sounds, sedentariness. It continues just as badly, while we have no connection to the soil, the water, the sun, the food, the people.

As humans, every single day we need to touch the Earth, feel the sun, breathe clean air, socialise with our tribe, eat nutrient dense foods, be on the move in nature all day long.

We should not be indoors, hardly moving, eating processed junk, breathing pollution, exposed to artificial lights and screens after sunset, feeling lonely among people.

We do not need to be aware of everything happening in the world right now, which causes information overload and prevents us from ever relaxing. 

But this is the life we get today, unfortunately.

Because of this unsuitable environment, slowly, more and more people get mental or physical health problems. I think depression and anxiety are symptoms of the bigger problem, just like obesity, diabetes, allergies etc. 

If we are aware of this problem, we can at least attempt to mitigate it by spending more time in nature, aligning our sleep with the sun as much as possible, eating whole foods, sharing our troubles or joys with our family/friends or online tribe, sitting less and moving more etc. 

 

[Bruci]

Very true. And early trauma is often caused by our artificial way of living and the way we were treated by doctors. Violent birth practices create a form of iatrogenic illness that can last for life.