Depression shouldn’t be confused with sadness. It’s a long-term condition that completely changes the chemistry of your brain and it can affect almost every part of your life! So, besides all the well-known triggers for depression, it’s important to know those causes that often get overlooked.
Smoking
There are so many reasons why you should give up smoking and depression is one of the best. Smokers are more likely to report feelings of depression and anxiety than non-smokers. Additionally, ditching cigarettes can also be a source of depression because the withdrawal you experience after quitting can be very strong.
Social media
Social media often offers distorted images of other people’s lives and can cause you to have a negative perception of your own reality. Constant comparisons of your life against other’s can lead to strong feelings of depression. So, make sure to limit your social media use and realize that a huge portion of the things you see online isn’t true.
Diet
Both your physical and mental state can be affected by the foods you eat. People who have a poor diet (eat junk food, take plenty of fat and sugar) are more likely to report symptoms of depression. Proper diet can not only reduce your symptoms but be used as a good prevention for depression.
Sedentary lifestyle
Exercise can boost your mood, so make sure to get up from your chair and start moving your feet. A light walk or a moderate session at the gym can do wonders for your depression.
Lack of sleep
Sleep deprivation can not only cause all sorts of physical conditions but also mess with your mood. The main issue is that depression impacts your sleep, which can become a vicious cycle hard to break.
Oral health
For many people, dental issues are a source of shame that prevents them from developing healthy relationships. The issue with dental problems is the fact that they can start pretty early in life, even during childhood when a person is at its most vulnerable. Only in Australia, almost 50% of children experience decay in their permanent teeth or live with a form of teeth misalignment. Luckily, if you find a good dentist, you can greatly improve the condition of your teeth. For instance, an experienced Chatswood orthodontist can give you braces that will align your teeth and give you back your confidence!
Summer weather
While Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is usually associated with winter, some people can also suffer during the summer. Warm weather depression can appear when people have a hard time adjusting to new weather. Instead of enjoying the sunshine, the body can’t adjust to new circumstances, usually due to brain chemistry imbalance and melatonin.
Birth control pills
Birth control pills should be taken seriously. Like any other medication, they do have unwanted side effects. Contraceptives are filled with synthetic hormones that can cause depression in some women. While it doesn’t happen to everyone who takes birth control pills, their effects are mostly seen in women with a history of depression. Women who experienced depression have an increased chance of noticing some symptoms again while they are on the pill. If you think you can’t handle your birth control pills, consults with your doctor and consider exploring other contraception methods like a diaphragm which doesn’t contain any hormones.
Important date
In some people, symptoms of depression can occur or become more prominent around a certain date that reminds them of a traumatic event. This is most common in PTSD sufferers, people who experienced loss of a loved one or any other trauma. The difficulties they experience on the anniversary of the event can also be followed by certain psychosomatic illnesses like nausea or stomach aches.
Vitamin D deficiency
Vitamin D, or the sunshine vitamin, literally brings sunshine into your life. There’s a lot of evidence that connects vitamin D deficiency and depression. This can also explain why people who live in places with long winters report more instances of depressive feelings. So if you’re blessed to live in a sunny country, it’s time to get out and enjoy the nice weather, no matter how tired you are.
While it’s always good to be informed on the most common causes of depression, it’s also smart to keep these less well-known triggers in mind. If you take everything into consideration, you’re facing the best defense against depression.