What Causes Depression?

Content Warning

What is depression?

And how do the interactions between our genes, our chemistry, and the environment around us affect our odds of developing and being treated for anxiety and depression?

That's today's big question, and my guest is Srijan Sen.

Srijan is the Francis and Kenneth Eisenberg Professor of Depression and Neurosciences at the University of Michigan and the Director of the Francis and Kenneth Eisenberg and Family Depression Center. His research focuses on the interactions between genes and the environment and their effect on stress, anxiety, and depression.

Even before COVID, kids, teens, and adults were suffering increasing levels of depression, loneliness, anxiety, and stress.

The symptoms are fairly common to folks who have them, but the causes are far less so. From genetics to the gut, to brain chemistry, to inflammation, and innumerable possible environmental factors like say, a pandemic, or school shootings, or a loved one passing, or childhood abuse, whatever it might be. Just a lack of sleep can trigger depressive symptoms. Or not.

I have suffered through it, Srijan has suffered through it, and so many of you have too.

So, with the way science is progressing rapidly in myriad ways, I thought it was time to dive in.

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INI Book Club:

• Range by David Epstein

• Find all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-club

Links:

• Follow along with the work of The Sen Lab

• Follow Srijan on Twitter

• Read Quinn's essay about Apple and mental health

• Suicide Crisis Lifeline (Call 988)

• The Trevor Project Hotline for LBGTQ+ youth

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• Edited by Anthony Luciani

• Produced by Willow Beck

• Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

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