[DoreenMichele]

There are two general sources of depression: environmental and biochemical. The parent acknowledged that:

people who suffer from depression because of environmental factors

Folks who have brain wonkiness can't fix it by fixing other life problems. But people who are depressed because their life sucks absolutely can see their mood improve by fixing other problems.

[meesterdude]

> There are two general sources of depression: environmental and biochemical.

This is not at all what the field of psychology has identified as the "general sources"

[ekr]

The fact that conditions such as sleep apnea (insufficient nocturnal brain oxygenation) lead to depression and anxiety in a significant number of cases illustrates that depression isn't always an indicative of a social problem. It can also be a strictly biochemical issue (there are a lot of things that affect neurotransmitter efficiency for instance).

(edited)

[meesterdude]

My point was, depression can come from a variety of sources; not just environmental or biochemical. Saying it's generally those two sources glazes over all the others - and is not representative.

[dragonwriter]

> It can also be a biochemical issue

Presumably, it's always a biochemical issue, though sometimes the biochemical state may be triggered by events in the social context.

[DoreenMichele]

The distinction I am trying to make is that brain chemistry can apparently be wonky and resistant to change in the absence of triggering life events.

[DoreenMichele]

So enlighten me. What does psychology have to say about it?

[AnIdiotOnTheNet]

In my personal experience, psychology is to depression what nutrition science is to obesity. They act like they know what they're doing, but really don't.

[meesterdude]

Far more than would be appropriate for a hacker news comment ;)

I will share that it is both more complex than many believe - and also less mysterious. "it's chemical" gets overplayed, while our relationship with our emotions is often left unexamined. There's a great deal of interconnectedness and sometimes cause & effect become confused or are tightly coupled. In the end, we're still learning, and everyone is different.