Depression causes unhappiness but can unhappiness cause depression?

[PyongyangKipperbang]

I have suffered depression and yes I felt desperately unhappy, but one it was treated (PND) the unhappiness lifted and I started to see things differently.

But I am wondering, can unhappiness trigger depression? As in, it is a symptom of a bad situation rather than the problem itself?

Not asking for a friend....

Yes of course it is although everyone's experience will be different.

When I had depression, I didn't feel unhappy because I didn't feel anything at all. I wasn't sad, happy, hungry or not hungry etc. I couldn't muster a single thought or opinion, I was just an empty shell for months.

I hope your 'friend', gets the help they need

Yes I think unhappiness - lasting longer than really short-term - can cause depression. I am convinced it can also cause physical health conditions.

I had it explained to me as something like your brain gets so used to not uptaking serotonin that it forgets how to do so by itself. The brain becomes like a flat cushion and only SSRIs can plump it up.

I believe it is widely accepted that when the unhappiness is accompanied by feelings of helplessness or powerlessness regarding the cause of the misery, the risk of depression is exponentially multiplied.

I obviously don't know what you're going through but for you because it sounds painful.

I believe it is widely accepted that when the unhappiness is accompanied by feelings of helplessness or powerlessness regarding the cause of the misery, the risk of depression is exponentially multiplied

I can definitely identify with the feelings of helplessness and powerlessness.

Seems like every step I take to make things better, things ultimately end up worse. Every avenue ends in a dead end.

Very long story short but if I say ....... low income due to post Covid redundancy, DWP and "computer says no" even though computer should be saying yes.....you get the picture. Been going on 2 years or more and I am so sick of fighting. I am sick of being poor. Sick of worrying about whether to buy food or electricity.

Started 5.5 years ago when I finally got rid of my abusive ex and has never really lifted. Funny really, furloughed on Covid during that summer was the best 6 months I can remember since being a teenager.

Do you know if PND is considered to be triggered by hormonal changes or other factors or both?

I am interested because I have a diagnosis of chronic severe depressive disorder and take anti-depressants long-term. The only time in my adult life when I was off medication but not depressed was when I was pregnant and breastfeeding.

Yes of course. Situational depression is a thing.

I;m afraid I dont know. In my case although I was diagnosed with PND as it occured within 3 months of my DD's birth, looking back I dont think it was actually related to her birth but to my situation.

Apologies, I didn't see your update before my 2nd post. I am sorry, it sounds awful. I can totally relate to the abusive partner and the poverty.

The rate of benefits really only allows you to survive (barely) not thrive. As per Maslow's hierarchy of needs, you can't begin to self-actualise while your basic needs are at risk of not being met.

Do you have a garden? Or even a window sill? Planting things and watching them grow proved helpful to me.

Thank you for making me laugh @LauderSyme

I am to gardening what a whale is to mountain climbing! I could kill a plastic plant! However I do appreciate what you are saying, thank you.

Oh no! That was the worst advice then! Although let's consider this... the tallest mountains on Earth are actually submerged in deep oceans, so whales might be better at scaling the peaks than you think...!

It is exhausting battling Goliath type faceless, uncaring institutions. Have you being doing that all on your own?

Yes. I was fine before May of ‘84.

After an event that wholesale changed my life and decimated the kind of future I’d presumed I’d have, I was desperately sad. And angry. And disoriented. It ballooned into deep depression. Which never went away.

I’ve been on antidepressants since I caught Covid in 2020 and the difference inside my head is insane. Like night and day. Still sad sometimes about the event and all the things that snowballed after it. But it is containable. Something I can afford to feel for a moment. No longer like an anchor pulling me down into the deepest depths.

(Except when peri menopause and then a dodgy thyroid decided to show up, then it hit again, really bloody hard. But medication specifically for those two issues let the anti depressants work again)

Sometimes it’s a symptom of life. Sometimes a symptom of some organ not doing it’s job as it should. Sometime it’s a double whammy of both, when an unfortunate combination of life and disgruntled organs going wrong at the same time hits you like a sledgehammer.

@AlienatedChildGrown Thank you for sharing

May I pm you? I wont ask you anything about what happened to you but I wonder if, given you seem to be a similar age to me, whether you would understand my current issues.

Thank you for your post

Yep, which mostly is fine. But lately it isnt, its been exacerbated by yet another "computer says no" (again long story but Carers Allowance saying I earn too much even though I dont, left me without money for the last 6 weeks and now they want me to fill yet another form which they say they sent 10 days ago, I havent received it and they wont do a thing until they get it back). Like I said, sick of fighting.

The urge to just fucking give up is beginning to overwhelm me.

@PyongyangKipperbang
Of course

Please don't give up. I have seen your posts on here for years and you are generous, kind, fun, witty, intelligent, incisive and have an energising presence. The world is beating you down but please hang in there X

Yes, absolutely! Depression is a socio-psychological condition, immensely complex and different for every single individual, but what that means is that basically it arises from a combination of social and environmental factors. Things like our upbringing, the quality and quantity of our relationships, our environment, our health in other regards (hormones etc) and many other things all contribute towards depression. So perhaps the way I'd answer your question is less "can unhappiness lead to depression" but "can factors which lead to unhappiness also lead to depression" - yes they certainly can, at certain levels, in certain combinations, and so on.