Mental Health9 Environmental Factors That May Contribute to Depression

Many people argue whether depression is genetic or whether some environmental factors could cause depression. Depressive episodes in people of all ages including teenagers can be greatly affected by environmental factors. These factors can also affect the duration and the timing of how long a depressive episode may last. For more extreme cases, finding the right adult or teenage depression treatment plan can be a life-saving measure.

This guide will cover environmental factors that can contribute to depression and what you can do to lessen the severity of depressive episodes that you or your teenager might be experiencing.

Bullying in Childhood

If your teenager experiences bullying in school, this can affect depression and how long a depressive episode may last. Bullying in childhood can even cause depression to last into adulthood and well past the years that a person was bullied.

Depression in teenagers is common because of hormones and all the changes that are going on within the body. If a teenager experiences bullying, the depression can become worse as a child feels like they do not belong and they may feel like they do not have any connections or friends.

Death of a Parent or Loved One

For a few years after a parent or a very close loved one has died, a child is very vulnerable to depression. Losing a parent is very hard for people of all ages, but for children and teens, it can be especially hard because they are very close to their parents and they may feel like their parents are their best friends and the only people on their side.

Maternal Depression

When a mother is depressed during pregnancy and when the child is growing up, the child might not develop as healthily as they can which can contribute to them then having depression themselves when they grow up or even when they are still a child.

This can be considered a global threat to children all over the world because mothers who do not receive good prenatal care or treatment during pregnancy are more likely to have maternal depression.

Maternal depression can also cause many issues in the child including economic hardship, disorganized homes, and unhealthy parent-and-child relationships.

Noise Pollution

Noise pollution can cause several different health issues including ones having to do with hearing and ones that are not hearing related at all.

Besides hearing loss and hearing troubles, it can cause stroke, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, and heart disease.

Living in a very loud environment that is constantly and excessively loud can cause trauma to the mind and heart and make it very difficult to live normally without a mental health disorder.

Chemicals From Food

Many different chemicals are put into food these days ranging from hormones to drugs to additives to pesticides. These chemicals can also be introduced into the air and water so it can be difficult not to be exposed to these chemicals in some way or another.

Many researchers and doctors believe that the addition of these chemicals has caused an increase in depression and anxiety in people of all ages.

Natural Disasters

In natural disasters, people can lose everything they own including their homes and their pets. It’s also common to lose a loved one and your peace of mind when there is a natural disaster including hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, and tornadoes.

Losing one’s possessions and loved ones can have many different detrimental effects and one of them can be a higher risk of developing depression.

Illnesses and Injuries

When people suffer from chronic illnesses, it’s easy for them to become depressed and not want to do the things they love anymore. When people are diagnosed with a serious illness such as cancer, it can also be difficult for them to manage their emotions and they may develop depression as a result.

Depression can also be a result of an injury especially if that injury causes someone to lose their career or not be able to school anymore.

Trauma

Trauma at any age can cause depression but children and teens who experience trauma are at an increased likelihood to develop depression. Trauma is mostly a result of abuse whether it be physical abuse, sexual abuse, or verbal abuse.

Trauma can also be a near-death experience or witnessing a death. Any kind of trauma can lead to depression and anxiety.

Grief

Grief is one of the number one causes of depression. Grief can happen for many different reasons but it most often happens when there is a major change in someone’s life including the loss of a loved one.

Many people are just said to be diagnosed with their new life or the changes in their life when they have depression. When someone has depression, they feel down more of the time than they feel happy

If someone begins to feel down most of the time, their grief could be turning into depression and they need to seek treatment right away.

Teenage Depression Treatment

If you think your teen has depression, it’s important to get them the help they need right away. Depression can be dangerous in teenagers because they begin to withdraw from their friends and family. Their grades can also suffer as they can lose the motivation they need to study and do well in school.

Teenage depression should never be ignored. The best thing you can do is talk to your child and ask them, but do not push them, to tell you how they feel. Hearing how they feel will give you an idea of if they are depressed and why they might be depressed.

If your teen has gone through a major life change or lost a loved one, it might be a good idea to seek professional help to ensure they are not suffering from any mental health illnesses as a result of all the changes going on in their life.

The sooner your teen gets help and treatment, the better it will be for them and the whole family.

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