I'm Still Human: Understanding Depression With Kindness (Expanded Edition - 2021)

• Chronic medical problems, e.g. stroke, diabetes.
• Personality, e.g. low self-esteem, easily anxious.
• Death or loss of a loved one.
• Political instability and natural disaster.
• Substance abuse, e.g. alcohol & cannabis.
• Vitamin deficiency, e.g. folic acid & B12.
• Inability to cope with positive change, e.g. graduation,
promotion, getting married, moving to a new house.
• Other mental illness, e.g. obsessive compulsive disorder.
Sometimes, it’s useful to classify the ‘cause’ under ‘R.T.M.’
• Risk factors – what causes someone to be more vulnerable
or have higher chance of getting depression, e.g. strong
family history of depression (genetic influence), past sexual
and emotional trauma.
• Triggering factors – a recent stressor that precipitates or
starts off an episode of depression, e.g. recent divorce and
child custody issues, financial difficulty, examination stress.
• Maintaining factors – what causes someone to have poor
recovery from depression, e.g. poor compliance with
medications and counseling, ongoing alcohol abuse, anxious
personality.
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