I feel like depression can be biological, environmental, or a combination. A close relative experienced depression for the first time in response to a very negative workplace situation in which the bosses made it impossible to complete any or all of her tasks. Plus she was already coping with grief following the death of a close family friend. Her normal disposition is optimistic and "can do" but this situation found her "shoulding on herself" (as my T likes to call it), i.e., pushing herself beyond appropriate expectations and so feeling like a failure. With counseling, medication, and a job change, she has gotten her life back together and is active and upbeat again.

I experienced my first bout of MDD as a young adult--wasn't ready for college and dropped out, poor social skills, not enough work experience to get a decent job, some estrangement from parents (with a dad who also experienced depression, I now see), feeling like a failure, etc. etc. I didn't know there was a help available (although when I did go back to college I went to the counseling center and didn't get the help I needed). I feel like the interaction between my own disposition (shy, fearful, worried) and the ways I responded to the situation I was in made me ripe for depression.

I think we do "learn" to be depressed--I feel like it's a way to stay safe in scary or hurtful or shameful situation. But when fear and shame take over and we don't feel that we can cope with things going on in our lives, well, major depression rears its ugly head and doesn't want to let go...and we don't know how to let go of it, either.

Thank goodness for modern medications, counseling, and support groups like this one!