Identify Your Root Cause(s) of Depression

Key takeaways:
~ When it comes to depression, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer.
~ Genetic factors, life events, and environmental factors can all play a role.

My goal here is to simplify your task of sorting through genetic data to target the right cause(s) of depression for you.

Members will see their genotype report below and the solutions in the Lifehacks section. Consider joining today.

Depression: 9 genetic pathways to check

There are multiple underlying physiological pathways involved in depression.

Genomics is a good starting point!

the place to start researching, learning about solutions
a targeted way to make diet or supplement changes
a starting point for talking with your doctor

I do want to point out a couple of caveats here:

It’s important to keep in mind that your genetic raw data only shows part of your genome (23andMe, AncestryDNA).
Genetics is only part of the picture. Your genes interact with your lifestyle, diet, abuse, chronic disease, etc — all coming together to change your neurotransmitters.

Please, talk with your doctor or psychiatrist for medical advice.

Can depression be genetic?

Genetics plays a role in depression for everyone, but there are multiple pathways that can cause the physiological changes that cause someone to feel depressed.

I’ve gone in-depth on all of these genetic causes in separate articles (links below). In this overview article, you’ll be able to hone in on which of these root causes to target.

What do I mean by root causes?

Recent research shows that for people with long-term psychiatric illnesses, such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia, there are structural changes that take place in the brain.[ref]

As you can see, genetics points to a number of root causes of depression. Some of these overlap and interact, so there isn’t necessarily a single genetic cause.

Here’s one way to look at the interconnected root causes of depression:

Pinpointing depression’s root cause:

If you have several variants highlighted in the articles below, this could indicate a physiological link to depression for you.

Most people will have one or two variants in the topics below. Some are really common variants. So what you are looking for is a bunch of variants, all pointing to the same cause.

Example case study:

If your Inflammation and Depression results show multiple risk alleles highlighted:

Steps to take:

Read through the article on inflammation and depression.
Look for sources of chronic inflammation such as eating junk food or exposure to toxicants and clean that up.
Read through the Lifehacks section for suggestions on how to decrease inflammation specific to your genetic variants.
Before implementing any supplement options, be sure to check with your doctor or pharmacist, if you are on any medications.

Depression Genotype Report: 9 Causes

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Bringing it all together:

To recap:

Depression can have physiological causes along with triggering life events.

Targeting the root physiological cause may help.

If you are under the care of a physician, talk with your doctor/psychiatrist, especially before adding supplements in with medications.

Flow diagram of multiple causes of depression linked to genetics

A holistic view of depression treatment can include

therapy (if needed)

medications (if needed)

diet

lifestyle

supplements (if needed)

Instead of just taking a stab in the dark, use your genetic data to formulate a plan. If you’re like me, writing down the plan can help. Here’s a printable form for keeping track of supplements.

Kind in mind that this process can take time, and you might find the need to switch up your strategy and plan. Resolving health questions can take a while, so be patient in finding what works best for you.

If you are in the US and find yourself or a loved one struggling with depression, you can call the national treatment referral service hotline (confidential): 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit the website. https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline.