Before treating bipolar disorder, it's helpful to find out its root cause. Because often just identifying the main cause of any disorder is a big step towards figuring out how to address it.
Inherited From Your Parents Or Grandparents
In 2006, a team scientists from around the world - led by Rockefeller University researchers - found a "depression gene" and named it "p11." They found that this gene controls serotonin transmission in your brain. Serotonin is the main mood chemical in your brain, you will be more apt to get depression if your serotonin levels are not right.
But you should know that a bad p11 gene doesn't mean you will be depressed. It just means that you will be more apt to get depression. The reason for this is that depression is a very complex disease with not only physical causes but psychological ones as well.
For example, someone who has a faulty p11 gene may do fine until the death of a loved one. An event like this may send them into a funk that lasts longer than what most people would consider normal...they are "depressed" and not just in mourning. These are the folks who stand to benefit the most from a SRI (Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) like "Prozac."
But it's important to note that this will not, for example, bring back their deceased loved one--which was the "precipitating event" that launched them into depression. This is why it's always best to treat depression with cognitive therapies (a fancy way of saying 'talking with a trained therapist' ), as well as with medicine like Prozac.
There is, however, another option to treating your depression. It's called "self help," and there's a paint-by-the-numbers plan you'll find out more about later. For those who can manage it, it's very effective. More on this later...
Anxiety From Stressful Event(s)
As in the above example, sometimes a single stressful event can cause someone to get depression (even though their serotonin levels may be normal). And a series of stressful things can cause you to be clinically depressed...
At 16 years young, my depression was so great that I attempted suicide by ramming my car into a grove of trees at over 120 mph! (When you read my story you'll be amazed I'm here with you now.) My problem was the result of a couple years of bad decisions that added stress upon stress - if you read my story you'll be able to relate.
To survive something like that was an amazing series of incredibly lucky events--you've gotta read about it to really appreciate it. This marked a huge turning point in my life and I just knew I had to come up with a formula for beating depression ASAP.
It's Usually Multiple Stressors Over Time
Usually, it's a series of events over time that gets people depressed. Take divorce, for example: Even though the word "divorce" describes a single event, it can lead to multiple highly stressful things happening to the divorcee all at once:
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of financial security: "How am I going to pay off this debt?"
- No more nice house and car.
- Daily contact with your kids is no more.
- Moving even though you didn't want to move.
...And so on--you get the general idea.
Taught To 'Enjoy' Depression
I know this sounds weird, but some people actually enjoy being depressed. Well, not exactly, but they really 'get into' the drama of emotional events. For these people, getting depressed is the equivalent of being extremely happy about something positive, only it's the opposite; they feel the significance of the negative event justifies long-term sadness.
The reasons for this 'depression response' are two-fold: It protects them from having to deal with responsibilities of everyday life, and/or it gets them attention they wouldn't otherwise get from people around them.
Psychologists tell us one theory is that they are "taught" this behavior as toddlers:
If your parents rarely paid attention to you unless you cried, you learned that "the squeaky wheel gets the grease," as the old saying goes; as long as you were in distress, people paid attention to you and comforted you. - 16004
Inherited From Your Parents Or Grandparents
In 2006, a team scientists from around the world - led by Rockefeller University researchers - found a "depression gene" and named it "p11." They found that this gene controls serotonin transmission in your brain. Serotonin is the main mood chemical in your brain, you will be more apt to get depression if your serotonin levels are not right.
But you should know that a bad p11 gene doesn't mean you will be depressed. It just means that you will be more apt to get depression. The reason for this is that depression is a very complex disease with not only physical causes but psychological ones as well.
For example, someone who has a faulty p11 gene may do fine until the death of a loved one. An event like this may send them into a funk that lasts longer than what most people would consider normal...they are "depressed" and not just in mourning. These are the folks who stand to benefit the most from a SRI (Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) like "Prozac."
But it's important to note that this will not, for example, bring back their deceased loved one--which was the "precipitating event" that launched them into depression. This is why it's always best to treat depression with cognitive therapies (a fancy way of saying 'talking with a trained therapist' ), as well as with medicine like Prozac.
There is, however, another option to treating your depression. It's called "self help," and there's a paint-by-the-numbers plan you'll find out more about later. For those who can manage it, it's very effective. More on this later...
Anxiety From Stressful Event(s)
As in the above example, sometimes a single stressful event can cause someone to get depression (even though their serotonin levels may be normal). And a series of stressful things can cause you to be clinically depressed...
At 16 years young, my depression was so great that I attempted suicide by ramming my car into a grove of trees at over 120 mph! (When you read my story you'll be amazed I'm here with you now.) My problem was the result of a couple years of bad decisions that added stress upon stress - if you read my story you'll be able to relate.
To survive something like that was an amazing series of incredibly lucky events--you've gotta read about it to really appreciate it. This marked a huge turning point in my life and I just knew I had to come up with a formula for beating depression ASAP.
It's Usually Multiple Stressors Over Time
Usually, it's a series of events over time that gets people depressed. Take divorce, for example: Even though the word "divorce" describes a single event, it can lead to multiple highly stressful things happening to the divorcee all at once:
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of financial security: "How am I going to pay off this debt?"
- No more nice house and car.
- Daily contact with your kids is no more.
- Moving even though you didn't want to move.
...And so on--you get the general idea.
Taught To 'Enjoy' Depression
I know this sounds weird, but some people actually enjoy being depressed. Well, not exactly, but they really 'get into' the drama of emotional events. For these people, getting depressed is the equivalent of being extremely happy about something positive, only it's the opposite; they feel the significance of the negative event justifies long-term sadness.
The reasons for this 'depression response' are two-fold: It protects them from having to deal with responsibilities of everyday life, and/or it gets them attention they wouldn't otherwise get from people around them.
Psychologists tell us one theory is that they are "taught" this behavior as toddlers:
If your parents rarely paid attention to you unless you cried, you learned that "the squeaky wheel gets the grease," as the old saying goes; as long as you were in distress, people paid attention to you and comforted you. - 16004
About the Author:
Discover which causes of depression could be affecting you right now. Also download your complimentary report, "How To Tell If It's Clinical Depression And Not Just The Blues." But most important, you'll find out how to treat and cure your depression the right way.
