Depression can be a result of an interaction of a number of factors including:

Environmental factors – for example, stress associated with certain milestone stages of your life, such as puberty, middle age or retirement, stress resulting from personal tragedies, family breakdown and unemployment can all contribute to becoming depressed.

Biological factors – an imbalance of the chemicals in the brain that regulate mood and activity can alter someone’s thoughts, emotions and behaviour, resulting in depression.

Genetic factors – people can inherit a predisposition to develop depression.

Personality – some personality types are more prone to depression. People who set very high standards for themselves may be easily depressed if they don’t live up to their self-imposed high expectations.

Thinking style – people with depression often think in unrealistic or negative ways which may cause or maintain depression. Past depressive episodes – once a person has experienced an episode of Major Depression, they may be more likely to develop depression in the future.

Physical illness or medical conditions – some medical conditions and medications used to treat physical illnesses can trigger depression.

Alcohol and other recreational drugs – some recreational drugs can make depression worse or even trigger depression in some people.

Most people with major depression first experience it in their late 20s. Children can become depressed, but it is more common in teenagers.

The symptoms of depression usually develop over days or weeks, although a low mood might start in the months before. It can be triggered by life events, or it may happen out of the blue.

With effective treatment and appropriate depression counselling, about half the population experiencing moderate depression will feel much better within 6 to 8 weeks. For those who don’t receive treatment, the duration of depression varies widely: some will get better after several months, some will recover partially, and others will continue to be depressed long term.

There is consistent and reliable evidence for the effectiveness of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Interpersonal Psychotherapy and Brief Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, in the treatment of depression in adults. Additionally, Eye Movement Desensitiation and Reprocessing (EMDR), Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), and Psychoeducation have been proven effective in selected types of depression, with more studies emerging now proving that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) are also effective treatment modalities.