Depression caused by social and physical environment?

Depression doesn’t always have to be from a medical problem. It can be situational caused by loss, many things that can be temporary. I’m not a doctor or psychologist but I can see environment causing it. Just an opinion!

"Is this kind of depression caused by environment a real depression?"

You bet it is! I think it can be the most real depression of all.

An unhappy home where everyone's arguing, there's not enough money, it's a bad neighborhood -- who *wouldn't* be depressed?

Thank you for your reply. What do you say about those that say that happiness is all in the mind? So do you think that the cure for most depression is simply getting to the right environment? That shouldn't be all that difficult. Right? I mean you don't need a million dollars; you need some financial security; a safe place to live and enjoy and people who are considerate of others. That would be revolutionary as depression is a major medical issue. It affects most people and the quality of life that suffers is such a tragedy and that need not be at all or not for long. If environment is the main cause I think the world needs a "happiness revolution"!

"What do you say about those that say that happiness is all in the mind?"

Tough question. Really one for philosophy and religion as much as medicine. If happiness were a formula, it would sure simplify a lot. But no doubt, attitude has a lot to do with it.

Specifically about depression, that's a very complex issue. I'm not a doctor or a therapist, just an observer and a veteran of depressive episodes.

Some simplified comments:

I've always thought that there's nothing wrong with being depressed if you've got something to be depressed about. Job loss, death of a loved one, health problems (staying upbeat after my stroke wasn't easy), etc., can be depressing situations. People get knocked down and it can be hard to get back up, but most manage it.

Chronic depression -- getting into a rut and staying there -- *can* become a habit. In that case, it can be "in someone's head." (Not forgetting medical causes, of course.)

Just my opinion, but a lot of chronic depression has some pretty nasty causes, including selfishness, anger, laziness, self-pity, etc. Depression can be a luxury; one of the most depressed people I knew really had nothing to be so depressed about, frankly.

Two women I knew: One was pretty spoiled and spent most of her life feeling cheated by life and was miserable. Another woman was orphaned as a child; survived a Nazi slave labor camp as a teenager; later married and had 12 (!!) children; had an abusive alcoholic husband; had to move across the globe and start a new life in middle age; worked like a dog every day of her life; survived bad health. Yet she found joy in life and was actually a pretty happy person overall.

Why such different outcomes? I have no idea. Faith in God, maybe? Gratitude? Biology?

If I knew the answer to all this, I'd be rich. And I'm definitely not rich!

Most of us have experienced this before and try to make a change quickly to move on to a better time. Sometime we can’t change our jobs or environment but wish we could. It could be money, situations, etc, etc that keep us in the same Hell that bothers us and mentally torments us 24 by 7. We have to change! We can’t! We have to! We can’t! We feel trapped. Its time to change and move on.

That very insightful. I know someone who has been bedridden for years but they sound great. They read all day and get take-out food. That's biology.

Then I know another person, a musician, who has tried to "make it" for many years. They are able bodied, smart, capable but get severely depressed at times because they don't have the success they want. That's environment.

Another person was severely depressed because they had no life partner. The day they found one they were no longer depressed. That's also environment.

I would like to say I believe one should never depend on anything for their happiness because that thing can disappear. I believe happiness is an attitude, a mindset that has a frame of reference that says " Not all things are bad in my life, in fact some are very positive (like being young) and everything else can get so much better in time with some effort".

Well, at least that's how I feel right now as it's Saturday and I will be going for a long bicycle ride soon. Come Monday may be a very different story!