Causes and Symptoms of depression

Depression is a common health condition that affects the day to day activities of a person. A patient affected by depression may start developing a feeling that he has no energy to do the things that he is supposed to do in his daily life. Some others may feel irritated without any apparent reason. The symptoms of depression vary from person to person. A person who feels dull and down for more than two weeks require special attention as it can be a symptom of depression.

The common symptoms of depression include constant feeling of sadness, lack of interest in the pleasure of day to day activities, loss of energy, change in the appetite, restlessness or slowing down, inability to concentrate, thoughts of suicide and feelings of worthlessness. A patient of depression may start to develop disinterest in sex. Most of the times these patients make it habit a to complain about physical problems such as back pains and head ache. They may become irritable without a valid cause at any point of time.

The symptoms of depression may vary in people according to the age group in which they belong. The symptoms shown by a 25 year old depression patient may not be the same of the symptoms expressed by a person in his seventies.

Like many other mental problems, depression can also be caused by biochemical, genes or environmental factors. Studies conducted in this field establish a direct relation between the changes in the brain and depression. Physical changes in the brain are found to be a cause that leads to this mental state. Neurotransmitters, the chemical that makes mood variation in a person also can cause depression in a person. One can also blame hormonal imbalance for creating this unexplainable mood variations in individuals.

Depression can be hereditary. A person with a family history of depression has a greater chance of being affected by these problems than others. The environment in which a person lives also has a role to play in developing the feeling of depression in individuals. The situations in the life, the surroundings, the people with whom the patients mingles every day etc are very important when it comes to depression. The environmental factors that lead a person to depression include loss of loved ones and financial troubles. Any person who is not bold enough to meet the challenging situations of life may fall into the hands of depression. It all depends on the courage and will power of the person.