Depression is one of today’s most widespread social ills. Numerous scientific efforts are being made to eradicate it. However, research findings continue to reveal that, on average, five out of ten women and one out of ten men are still affected by this evil. What’s more, some people suffer from depression for no reason they can understand or explain. But what exactly does this form of depression refer to?

This article sheds some light on the subject. You’ll find out more about causeless depression, its characteristics and treatment.

Depression for no reason: what is it?

Depression is in itself a real brain disease, affecting the functioning of the neurological system. It manifests itself in various forms and has enormous repercussions on the human being. It’s an illness that affects your mood, leading to intellectual, emotional, psychological and physical behavioral degeneration. You become sad and sullen, and suddenly lose interest in life, your passions and pleasures. This has nothing to do with temporary depression, low morale or the blues. There are key factors at the root of such dysfunction.

Depression is unjustifiably referred to when this state of being affects you in an unjustifiable way, which a priori is highly unlikely. In reality, medicine associates biological, psychological, family and environmental antecedents with all depressive manifestations. Even if these antecedents are mostly assumed, they serve as a justification for an individual’s depression. So, when you suffer from depressive disorders that can’t be associated with any of these factors, you’ll have to believe that you’re affected by uncaused depression. This form of depression is better known as a non-specific depressive disorder. It does not meet any of the criteria established to distinguish the different forms of depression.

When do you actually say you’re experiencing depression without cause?

Before saying that you’re experiencing an episode of depression for no reason, it’s important to take a few things into account. The first is to make sure that you’re not confusing a passing bout of depression with a depressive disorder. Depression is persistent in nature. It usually lasts several months or even years. Its negative and imposing influence becomes manifest in every aspect of the sufferer’s life. It is therefore important to understand that it is distinct from sadness, melancholy or boredom, which can occur at a given moment and in certain situations.

The second aspect is to make sure that you have undergone psychotherapy before coming to any conclusion. This is the best way to understand what you’re suffering from. Psychotherapeutic treatment begins with a diagnosis to determine the form of depression you are suffering from. A priori, there are different forms of depression, ranging from major depressive disorder to post-partum depressive disorder. One of these is non-specific depressive disorder. It is identified with depression for no reason. This form of depression is neither major depression (one or more major depressive periods), nor dysthymic depression (depressive symptoms different from those of major depression).

Characteristics of unreasonable depression

Like all other forms of depression, uncaused depression is also linked to a neurological dysfunction that affects mood. The exact cause is not yet known. However, it is generally characterized by an adjustment disorder. These include :

ADJUSTMENT DISORDER WITH DEPRESSED MOOD
Adjustment disorder is a psychological response to stressful and uncomfortable situations that affect mood. These situations lead to the manifestation of certain symptoms. To detect this disorder, a diagnosis is required. When the following symptoms start to appear in you on a recurring basis, such an examination is essential:

Daily depressive mood lasting more than two weeks;
Persistent, daily chronic fatigue followed by loss of energy;
Increasing daily loss of interest and pleasure in usual tasks;
Loss of self-esteem and self-confidence, accompanied by excessive feelings of guilt that recur almost daily;
Diminished cognitive faculty and ability to concentrate;
Invasion of the mind by suicidal thoughts ;
…

ADJUSTMENT DISORDER WITH ANXIETY
This form of anxiety differs from post-traumatic stress. It is not linked to a major stress event. It is triggered by exposure to one or more clearly identifiable stressful situations. Symptoms associated with this type of anxiety include exaggerated worry, sleep disturbances, somatic difficulties, loss of appetite…

How to treat depression for no reason?

Since the precise causes of depression for no reason are unknown, we associate it more or less with stressful events. In other words, any situation which, rather than reducing stress, increases it, can be the source of this form of depression. These situations have emotional, genetic, familial, cerebral and other underpinnings. There are two main medical approaches to treating this pathology:

PSYCHOTHERAPY
Psychotherapy enables us to detect the form of depression involved in any expression of depression, and to adopt appropriate measures. The aim of psychotherapy is to alleviate the symptoms of depression and provide the patient with the necessary support. It employs a variety of methods, depending on the individual case, to understand and treat the root cause of the malaise. A stress management approach, for example, can be used to help reduce stress in patients whose depression is caused by stress.

MEDICATION: ANTIDEPRESSANTS
Antidepressants are designed to alleviate depression in all its forms. Whether it’s a case of depression for no reason or not, there are different types of antidepressants to combat the symptoms associated with different depressive disorders. Antidepressants should only be used on prescription. In fact, it’s always best to combine medical treatment with psychotherapy.

HOSPITALIZATION
When the suicidal tendency of a depressive is high, hospitalization is preferable. This is all the more important when the patient no longer responds to therapeutic treatments.

How to prevent depression without cause?

Well before resorting to these various forms of treatment, you can already personally take natural steps to deal with an expression of depression without cause. These are basic preventive measures that can prove highly effective. You can

Review your lifestyle and organize it better: simply clean up your hygiene by eating better, for example, or by getting enough sleep and sleeping earlier;
Take up sporting activities;
Avoid circles that have a negative influence on you;
Be more relational and avoid withdrawal…

In short, depression without cause is a non-specific form of depression whose criteria differ from those of other forms of depression. It has its own characteristics, and requires the same treatment as any other form of depression.