What Causes Depression?

Do you often feel depressed, anxious or stressed? The good news is that it’s not all in your head. There is a reason why you feel this way.

Your brain needs an adequate supply of natural chemicals like serotonin, endorphins, dopamine and GABA in order for you to feel happy, positive and relaxed. If for some reason you don’t have enough of any of these chemicals, then no matter how much therapy you have, you will still have depression.

The important thing is to find out exactly what is causing your depression, then follow a treatment plan for your particular condition. A program of vitamins, minerals and natural supplements designed to address your unique biochemical imbalances can start to lift your depression in as little as 24 hours.  

These 13 depression tests will help you find the cause of your depression and start on you on the road to emotional recovery.

Who Am I?

I was always anxious and shy as a child but as a teenager I became very depressed – I was constantly exhausted and just wanted to lie down all day. I hated myself, felt like my life was awful and thought there was no hope of things ever getting any better. I went to bed and cried for hours each night trying to get enough courage to end it all. I went to a doctor who had a quick look at me and said he couldn’t see anything wrong and I should come back if things got worse.

I did therapy for a few years but it made the depression worse – spending two hours a week talking about everything that was wrong in my life made me very good at focusing on my negative feelings. I saw a number of doctors, a psychiatrist and many different kinds of alternative health practitioners but the depression didn't go away.

I was on antidepressants for ten years. They took the edge off the despair and the anxiety but left me feeling like a zombie living in a dull, grey world. Every year or two the antidepressants would start to wear off and I would spiral into severe depression and have to change to a different antidepressant.

The Start of my Search

Eventually I decided I would find out how to get help for depression myself. I spent hours researching depression on the internet every week and got every book I could find on the subject. I found out about a condition called pyroluria that described me perfectly, not just emotionally but physically. As well as depression, social withdrawal and anxiety, I had stretch marks on my legs, crowded front teeth, acne, very cold hands and feet, a poor sense of smell, white flecks on my fingernails, a puffy face under stress and I had been a vegetarian – symptoms I had never thought were related to depression but all were caused by pyroluria. People with pyroluria lose large amounts of B6 and zinc in their urine, resulting in a severe deficiency of B6 and zinc, both of which are required for many different chemical reactions in the brain as well as for a number of physical functions.

I looked for a doctor who knew about pyroluria but couldn't find one. I was so sure I had it that I started taking the treatment anyway - large doses of B6, zinc, and a few other vitamins and minerals. Within a week the depression was much, much better. I thought I had finally found the answer, but after a few weeks I slid backwards - the depression definitely wasn't as bad as it used to be but it was still there.

After much searching I finally found a doctor who knew about pyroluria. He tested me for a few other causes of depression and found out that I also had undermethylation, and that some of the supplements I was taking for pyroluria were making the undermethylation worse. He adjusted my supplements and the depression improved but things still weren’t great.

After more years of searching and trying all kinds of elimination diets and supplements, I finally found the full story. When pyroluria is untreated for many years it can cause a number of other conditions that contribute to depression. The zinc deficiency leads to low stomach acid and this had caused a leaky gut and food intolerances. I had hormonal imbalances and adrenal fatigue and hormonal imbalances caused by the long term B6 and zinc deficiencies. I also wasn't able to convert folic acid into the form of folate needed by the body due to a mutated MTHFR gene. This was the cause of the undermethylation and meant that the treatment my previous doctor had prescribed for undermethylation wasn’t really working for me.

I am now off antidepressants completely, I take a number of different natural remedies for depression every day and am very careful with my diet. I am much better than I have ever been, and now that I’m finally on the right treatment plan, getting better all the time.

I have written this website because I wanted to bring together all of the information I’ve found in my years of research into what causes depression and make it easily accessible to as many people as possible. I hope that it will help you find the cause of your depression and start you on the road to feeling happy, healthy, calm and at peace with the world.