Common depression symptoms include persistent poor moods, irritability, guilt, fatigue, or a lack of interest even in pleasurable activities. The symptoms can worsen and impact your emotional and physical health. Prompt and effective Boynton Beach depression treatment can help mitigate severe risks such as weight gain and obesity that increase the risk of life-threatening health conditions such as heart disease. Understanding the common depression risk factors can help you mitigate the chances of developing or aggravating the condition. Here is a glance at the common depression risk factors.
Genetics
Depression can run in families, meaning you are at higher risk if your grandparent, parent, or sibling has had the condition. A clear depression and genetics association is yet to be established, but factors such as an imbalance in the neurotransmitters can be hereditary. Neurotransmitters are chemical substances facilitating communication in different parts of the brain, examples including serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
The chemical substances play a significant role in mood regulation, and an imbalance, mainly a short supply, leads to the symptoms recognized as clinical depression. You can’t modify your genetics, but since depression results from a combination of more factors, its development due to genetic predisposition is not inevitable. You can mitigate risks by revisiting your environment to establish aspects that could aggravate the situation.
Traumatic events
Death or loss of a loved one is inevitable, and regardless of how well you think you are prepared for such traumatic situations, they can lead to considerable stress and depression. Grief and sadness can lead to depressive symptoms like suicidal thoughts or worthlessness feelings. How you process the situation matters; it is recommended that you seek professional help for systematic stress management and minimize depression chances.
Chronic stress
Stress is a part of life, but the levels vary. For instance, significant life events like loss of income, divorce, retiring, starting a new job, having a baby, and past events like sexual/physical/emotional abuse can lead to higher stress levels. If the stress is not managed, it can impact other areas of your life, causing unnecessary anxiety. This often develops into chronic stress and escalates into depression. Effective stress management can help avoid such instances and mitigate depression chances.
Medical conditions and medication
Common conditions associated with depression include chronic pain, ADHD, and sleep problems. Depression can also be a reaction or paired with medical conditions or medication. If you suspect that certain medication is causing depression, talk to your doctor for a different prescription or dosage adjustment. Besides medications, drug abuse can also cause or indicate depression. Some people abuse drugs struggling to beat low feelings. Others experience depressive symptoms such as following heavy alcohol consumption.
Your personality traits and lifestyle, including the environment, diet, and physical activity, play a role as you strive to mitigate depression. This is because depression is usually a combination of different risk factors whose impacts are affected by the ability to manage them, including the support available, overall health, and surroundings. Contact MindSpa Psychiatry today for more on depression, treatment, and its management.
