What May Cause Depression and Anxiety: At Length and in Detail

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Both depression and anxiety are two most common disorders of mental nature which are now so widespread that by the end of the century there probably will be no person that would have ever been affected by any of these conditions. In most cases (in fact, in all), there is no single underlying cause; usually, there is a number of factors that contribute to development of either depression or anxiety, or both. However, to explain the issue which world health&care medicine is trying to solve, namely ”what may cause and actually causes depression and anxiety” we should, firstly, tell both of them apart.

What Is It: Depression or Anxiety?

Commonly, both conditions can be characterized as a number of emotional and functional problems featuring a strong mind-body or body-mind connection, and here the similarity between them ends. Anxiety is an emotion revealed in your doubts, fears and phobias about your future prospects and expressed through anxious thoughts, nervous or self-protective behavior and unexplained physical sensations.

Unlike anxious people, those suffering from depression aren’t preoccupied with any fear or uncertainty; on the contrary, they already know what (surely bad, just like that bad which is happening now) is going to happen to them. That’s why they always feel sad and hopeless; they are not interested in anything, suffer from sleep disorders, often feel pain and ache without any physical cause, find it hard to concentrate or make a decision, often think of death or suicide, etc.

Conditions differ but, as it often occurs, they may and usually come together. Health&care specialists from different countries agree upon the following: both anxious people may feel depressed just like depressed people can feel anxiety. Attempts to figure out what can be primary and what can be a consequence can help not only in determining the major causes but help in overall treatment significantly.

What May Cause and Causes Anxiety and Depression

Although these are different conditions, factors underlying are mostly similar. Like we’ve already said, there is a number of those that may cause anxiety and depression. These can be emotional, social, psychological and physical factors as well as those connected with genetic vulnerability and changes in the brain. So, let’s explain each of them (note, there are various classifications but, in general, they explain similar notions):

1. Emotional shock following some severe life stressor or traumatic event can be the trigger for development of the state of anxiety and depression.

2. Social factors usually include interpersonal relationships and employment problems, social isolation, verbal, physical, sexual or emotional abuse, etc.

3. People who tend to worry much or those too sensitive to personal criticism or, on the contrary, those who have low self-esteem are in the risk group.

4. Physical factors usually include nutritional deficiency, lack of exercise and sunshine; likewise, hormonal disorders, infections, health conditions like e.g. diabetes, asthma, heart diseases and intake of medications can also cause both conditions.

5. Although genetic vulnerability is considered to be one of those crucial factors, others, e.g. personal and social ones, still have quite an important influence.

6. It is considered that certain changes in the brain may also cause anxiety and depression. However, either depression or anxiety is not just the result of some chemical imbalance caused by lack or excess of a certain chemical; in fact, any of the factors mentioned above can cause such a faulty chemical regulation in the brain which we may call a kind of a vicious circle.