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Ol’ga Efimova \/ EyeEm \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n <\/span> \nDepressive disorder\u2014also known as depression\u2014is a common mental health condition that affects your thoughts, moods, and behaviors. Depression causes feelings of extreme sadness and hopelessness for two or more weeks, among other behavioral and physical symptoms. Symptoms can limit your ability to function and lower your quality of life.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nThere is no singular cause of depression\u2014rather, multiple factors can increase your risk of being depressed. Researchers believe that a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors can cause depression. Depressive disorder affects 1 in 6 people in the U.S.\u2014and knowing the risk factors can help you or a loved one seek the support you may need to manage depression.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n How To Know if You're Depressed<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nSome experts believe that there is a genetic component to depressive disorder\u2014meaning that depression and other mood disorders run in families. If you have a parent or sibling with depression, research shows that you are two to three times more likely to have a depression diagnosis at some point in your life as well.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nEvidence also suggests that certain genes can affect your brain chemistry, making you more prone to experiencing depressive moods. The chemicals in the brain, known as neurotransmitters, allow the nerve cells (neurons) to communicate with each other. When your neurotransmitters aren\u2019t functioning normally, you are at an increased risk of having depression, and other mental health conditions.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nKeep in mind that genetics is not the only risk factor for depression. Having certain genes does not guarantee that you will experience depression\u2014and, people with depression don\u2019t always have a family history of the condition. \n<\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nAnyone can experience depression and it\u2019s not always possible to see it coming. However, there are some known factors that can raise your risk of developing symptoms.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nFactors that increase your risk of depression include:<\/span>\n<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n What Is High-Functioning Depression\u2014And Could You Have It?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nThe primary risk factors for developing depression are stressful life events. It\u2019s not possible to control each of these factors, but knowing the risks is important to keep in mind.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nMajor life events are stressful, and this stress can put you at risk of developing depression. Stressful life events may include a variety of environmental and lifestyle changes, such as:<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nSometimes, life events that are seen as positive\u2014such as getting married, buying a house, or getting pregnant\u2014can also cause major stress and increase your risk for depression.\n<\/p>\n \nResearch shows that people who report having poor social support are more likely to develop depression after going through a stressful time. Therefore, one way to reduce your risk of experiencing depressive moods is to make time to speak to your loved ones, join a support group, or meet with a mental health professional when going through challenges or stress.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n What To Say to Someone Who's Depressed<\/span><\/p>\n Contact the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for information on mental health support and treatment facilities in your area.<\/p>\n 911<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nDepression is a common mental health condition that affects your thoughts, moods, and behaviors. While there is no singular cause of depression, a variety of genetic, demographic, environmental, lifestyle, and psychological factors can increase your risk of developing the condition.\n<\/p>\n \nHaving a family history, being assigned female at birth, using substances, and undergoing stressful life events are among the most common risk factors for experiencing symptoms. Depression is often difficult to go through\u2014and that\u2019s OK. Knowing the risks can help you or a loved one get the proper support and treatment to manage depression symptoms. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ol’ga Efimova \/ EyeEm \/ Getty Images Depressive disorder\u2014also known as depression\u2014is a common mental health condition that affects your thoughts, moods, and behaviors. Depression causes feelings of extreme sadness and hopelessness for two or more weeks, among other behavioral and physical symptoms. Symptoms can limit your ability to function and lower your quality of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,71,839,45],"tags":[37,72,840,47],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17157"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Is Depression Hereditary?\u00a0 <\/span> <\/h2>\n
Who Gets Depression?\u00a0 <\/span> <\/h2>\n
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Risk Factors\u00a0 <\/span> <\/h2>\n
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\nLooking For Support?<\/h3>\n
A Quick Review\u00a0 <\/span> <\/h2>\n