This evidence suggests that people surrounded by serious stress may be more susceptible to depression than people with less stress in their lives. Separation and the loss of a loved one seem to be serious stressors that often lead to depression. The fact that separation and loss of a loved one can be a serious cause of stress makes me wonder about peopleUs necessity for other people and their necessity for love, companionship, and affection. I know their have been many studies on people that have shown correlations between the amount of love and affection people receive and their development and ability to function. The fact that separation can lead to depression seems to be just another piece of evidence to support the on-going theory that love, affection, and human companionship play an important role in normal development and functioning in humans.
Women seem to be more often affected by depression than men.
Though I found no evidence on why this is, I have developed my own theories about it. I believe that the higher rate of depression in women than in men is partially due to environmental factors such as societal pressures on them as well chemical and hormonal imbalances that are the result of childbirth and menstrual cycles. Depression has also been proven to run in families and therefore may be genetic. I am extremely curious about how this chemical imbalance results from stress. Though I was unable to find any clear-cut evidence that would explain this phenomena, I have developed my own theories about it.