Physical exhaustion, burnout, an unbalanced diet, too much refined sugar, lack of exercise, a chemical deficiency in the brain, or hormonal changes can make people vulnerable to depression too. The latter is especially true for women during their menstrual cycle or pregnancy, immediately following the birth of a child, or during menopause. Some depression is the result of normal mood swings that most healthy people experience at some time. Other depression can have its roots in painful childhood experiences such as physical or sexual abuse, neglect, or from a feeling of not being fully loved. Lack of purpose without meaningful work and worthwhile goals, not using one's abilities, too few friends and loneliness, unmet needs, and unfulfilled dreams, can all cause or increase depression as well.
Considerable depression is caused by repression of negative feelings such as anger.
Dr. Theodore Issac Ruben, eminent psychiatrist and author of The Angry Book , reminds us that when we deny our true feelings and smile when we feel like snarling, the suppressed anger can lead to anxiety, depression, insomnia, psychosomatic illness, alcoholism, frigidity, impotence, and downright misery. Anger turned in on ourselves can drive us down into a spiral of depression. 1 Depression can be a denial of emotions. Faulty thinking is another cause of depression. Many counselors believe that feelings follow thoughts.