What are the most common causes of depression?

What are the most common causes of depression?

We really don't understand what causes depression. We certainly know that there is a significant genetic basis. If you look at family histories we see that if you have a first degree relative who suffered from depression or another mood disorder, it puts you at risk for developing depression yourself. There are ties between developing depression and stressful life situations such as loss of a loved one or other kind of trauma; however, it's difficult for us to really tie those together tightly. There are other cases where we don't really see any genetic history or life event that would explain the development of depression. We can only surmise that this is something going on in the brain that we don't have any understanding of.