Depression as an effect
Depression often shows up in response to something else.
These are some common triggers:
Loss, trauma, divorce, job loss, and so on.
Conditions like cancer, diabetes, or fibromyalgia often raise the risk.
Like postpartum depression or depression related to thyroid issues.
Alcohol or drugs can initiate or aggravate depressive symptoms.
Often from early life experiences or ongoing emotional abuse.
In our hyperconnected world, people constantly compare themselves to others, especially via social media.
This often leads to feelings of inadequacy or failure, which can trigger depressive symptoms over time.
Studies have linked high social media use (particularly passive scrolling) to an increased risk of becoming depressed in adolescents and young adults.
Chronic exposure to discrimination, microaggressions, or cultural invalidation can be a major contributor to depression for people from minority groups (ethnic, sexual, gender, or disability communities).
This is often underrepresented in clinical settings, but it is still a possibility.
Intersectionality plays a huge role, since someone might face both racial discrimination and socioeconomic stress, compounding the mental health burden.
Lack of sleep isn’t just a symptom, since it can trigger depression by disrupting mood regulation, hormonal balance, and cognitive function.
The microbiome in the gut communicates directly with the brain through the vagus nerve and neurotransmitters, such as serotonin.
When gut health is off (due to poor diet, stress, or antibiotics), it can lead to mood imbalances, making depression an effect of internal physical imbalances.
Depression isn’t just in the mind. The immune system can affect our mood as well.
Heightened concentrations of inflammation have been associated with chronic depression, possibly leading to other physical illnesses or worsening existing ones.
Depression can cause changes at the genetic level. Not in your DNA sequence, but in how genes are expressed (called epigenetics).
These epigenetic changes can even be passed on to offspring, which means untreated depression can ripple across generations.
For example, maternal depression during pregnancy can influence fetal brain development through altered stress hormone signaling.
Long-term depression can cause shrinkage in parts of the brain, especially the hippocampus, which is crucial for memory and learning. The same thing can be observed in dementia.
Thus, cognitive decline and/or dementia are possible contributors to becoming depressed.
This is notably relevant for healthcare workers, therapists, or caregivers since long-term emotional labor can lead to burnout, which can progress into clinical depression.
This isn’t just emotional exhaustion; it’s a state where empathy depletion and a sense of futility take hold.
Depression can also emerge from a creeping sense of meaninglessness, a lack of direction, purpose, or existential dissatisfaction rather than from trauma or stress.
Viktor Frankl called this the “existential vacuum,” and it’s more common than we think in midlife or after major transitions (retirement, empty nest, etc.).
This is often connected with anhedonia and demotivated states, even when life seems “fine” on the surface.
Many people with undiagnosed ADHD, autism, or other neurodivergent profiles spend years masking it, trying to fit into neurotypical expectations.
Over time, this may lead to exhaustion, internalized shame, and eventually, depression.
Living in densely populated, overstimulating, or polluted areas (especially without green space) is associated with higher rates of depression.
The built environment itself, like noise pollution, lack of sunlight, and lack of nature, is a silent contributor.
Depression is a downstream consequence in these cases where the mind and body are reacting to internal or external stressors.
Depression as a cause
But depression itself can also trigger other issues, becoming the source of a descending spiral:
Due to withdrawal or irritability.
From a lack of focus or energy.
As a way to self-medicate.
Both affect overall physical health.
Depressive symptoms are connected to and frequently cause suicidal thoughts and ideation.
Parents with untreated depression may unintentionally create environments of emotional unpredictability, withdrawal, or hypercriticism.
Chronic depression is associated with reduced brain plasticity.
This makes it harder to adapt, learn new habits, or shift out of negative cycles, locking people into depressive patterns.
Antidepressants and therapies like EMDR or mindfulness-based CBT may help restore this plasticity over time.
More prevalent in atypical or mixed depressive states, some people engage in impulsive risk-taking (unsafe sex, reckless spending, self-harm, dangerous driving).
These behaviors can cause real-life consequences, reinforcing shame and deepening depressive loops, and are more commonly seen in adolescents and people with co-occurring conditions like borderline personality traits or bipolar depression.
Often happens when people act (or are forced to act) in ways that go against their moral values, like in war, unethical workplaces, or even high-pressure corporate roles.
The resulting moral injury can lead to guilt, shame, and long-term depression.
Regularly seen in veterans, healthcare workers, or whistleblowers, but rarely talked about outside those groups.
In this sense, depression can become the root problem, particularly when it’s left untreated.
The cycle: Cause and effect feed each other
What often happens is a feedback loop. For example:
You lose your job → You feel hopeless → You withdraw socially → You get more isolated → Depression worsens → It becomes even harder to hunt for a job or function.
This makes depression complex since it’s usually not a simple cause-and-effect, but more like a web of interacting factors (biological, psychological, social).
What’s the cause of depression?
Research supports a biopsychosocial model of depression, meaning it results from a mix of:
- Biological factors: Genes, brain chemistry, and inflammation.
- Psychological factors: Thinking patterns, coping styles.
- Social/environmental factors: Trauma, support systems, lifestyle.
Conclusion
- Depression can start as a result of something.
- It can become a cause of further problems.
- It’s very often both feeding into one another.
Depression doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s deeply tied to life experiences, biology, and even how we interpret the world.
