We Asked People, “What’s The Number One Cause Of Depression”, These Are Their Answers

By Mayukh Saha / Truth Theory

Depression is one of the most common mental health conditions in the world. As of September 2021, WHO estimates that 280 million people suffer from depression: a whopping 3.8% of the global population. To make matters worse, the recent pandemic has caused a spike in the number of lives lost to depression or anxiety.

For a long time, depression was thought to be just a more serious type of sadness. But now we know it is a lot more than that. It is a serious medical condition that needs professional help. And a number of factors can cause it, most of which are very typical life experiences. So we took the chance to ask people what they thought is the reason behind this illness. Here are the people’s opinions on the causes behind this: 

1. A Lack Of Purpose

We all have a craving to do something in our life – something that makes us feel fulfilled, and gives purpose to our lives. It does not have to be anything major or world-changing. Even stuff we are passionate about or have a clear vision of serves the purpose. This commenter suggests that a lack of this is the number one cause of depression. They make us feel lost and without any worth, perhaps even stagnant.  

Read: Dancing And Movement Therapy Could Help Treat Depression And Other Brain Diseases

They also talk about our relationship with our social surroundings being a major factor. As the saying goes, negative people have a negative impact. As such, it is very important to be able to define boundaries and live true to yourself. Always pandering to others while not being honest with ourselves is another top cause of depression.

2. Thinking Too Much And Not Having Anyone To Speak About It

Overthinking is, according to this commenter, the number one cause of depression. But it is not just overthinking. Having no one to hear our explanations would make any of us sad. For people already suffering from depression, this can heighten the condition. This commenter says that strangers are better listeners than people who “know” them for a long time because they do not feel it is important enough.    

3. The Disappointment Of Reality

Another top cause of depression is when you have to face the reality that your life is not what you had dreamed it would be. What’s even worse is when there is no time to change it either. Another important point in this comment is that positivity does not always help.

4. The World Can Be Too Cruel

This commenter thinks the top cause of depression is how the world is generally without empathy or compassion. After a point, it can make us feel hopeless and lose faith in our surroundings.

Read: Is Depression A Sane Reaction To An Insane Society?

5. The Chain Caused By Being Directionless

We have already talked about being directionless and being enshrouded in hopelessness. This commenter adds another cause of depression to that: feeling shameful because we feel hopeless and directionless. Having no one to talk about it either makes us feel all alone adding to the depression.

6. Stress Is A Top Cause Of Depression

This commenter says that a rising and often ignored cause of depression is stress over a long time. This can be stress caused by unrealistic expectations of the people around us, or just stress caused by overwork and unhealthy lifestyles.

7. Life Is Unfortunate

There are some incidents in our lives that cause immense trauma and can usually cause depression. This comment lists some of them. All of them stem from not getting the help needed at the correct time. But there is usually some sort of resolution to be found if you seek help.

Read: Depression Stole 13 Years of My Life… Here’s How I Overcame It

8. The Biological Disconnect

This user talks about how ‘disconnection’ is the top cause of depression. This is a more scientific explanation as to the condition. We are built to be social, and a lack of it is a big cause of depression. Similarly, our circadian cycle (the cycle that maintains our sleep-wake cycle) can be adversely affected if we are disconnected from nature. This can then cause us to fall into an unhealthy lifestyle, have unstable emotions, and thus deeper into depression.

Regardless if it is biological or social, depression can happen to anyone. People are sometimes even unaware that they are suffering from it. If you think you are depressed, seek professional help immediately. It is, at the end of the day, an illness that can be cured, and the first step is identifying it.