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Does depression always come with a "trigger" event or can depression sometimes appear with no apparent reason?

26 Answers
Last Updated: 01/10/2022 at 3:40pm
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Top Rated Answers
Anonymous
June 22nd, 2015 6:47pm
Depression can absolutely happen with no apparent reason. It is an imbalance of chemicals in the brain, which could happen without any trigger. The first of my major depressive episodes started without an obvious trigger event, and the "trigger" for the second seems so small in hindsight that I'm sure the episode would have happened anyway. There are many factors that can go into depression, including genetics, just the way that your brain is wired.
Dan21
June 14th, 2015 9:37pm
Speaking from experience depression works both ways, certain events will get you down, but also seemingly nothing will do it as well, even things as basic as boredom and loneliness.
Unlocker3674
February 29th, 2016 9:31pm
sometimes it appears with no apparent reason, everyone have moments of depression maybe moments of weaknesses or just because they're living in routine
Anonymous
November 16th, 2015 7:19pm
Depression can appear for no reason. Sometimes, that can make it trickier. At least if there was a trigger event you have some kind of narrative. When it comes out of nowhere there can be an urge to blame yourself.
littlebambi
April 2nd, 2015 4:19am
Speaking from experience, depression can have a trigger or it can just come out of nowhere. And because of that, you can sometimes think you can fool yourself into thinking you aren't depressed, because depression always has a trigger, right?
Nicobaka
April 12th, 2015 3:16pm
Both. Although depression can be caused as a response to a particularly difficult time in your life, it can appear out of nowhere, for no apparent reason.
Idontcareprobably
September 22nd, 2020 5:33pm
You can get depression out of nowhere for no reason whatsoever and you can get depression as a result of another mental disorder such as extreme anxiety or a life situation. Such situational depression is easier to treat because there's a palpable reason behind it. Remove anxiety - depression gone. Change life situation - depression gone. Biological is a much harder case and is usually very chronic and always needs medication unlike the situational one which may need medication if severe enough, but it's not always a must. Therapy is usually recommended for the management of both. Hope this helped!
Anonymous
March 28th, 2016 10:04am
Both....sometimes depression increases with a "trigger" and sometimes it just happens because god knows what. All I do know is that once it hits, it takes almost forever until you finally heal the wound and start being your normal self again, which is sad because during the time of healing the wound, you only feel the pain and not care about others around you, seeking solitude from everyone hoping that the pain will go away.
RyanLau21
March 1st, 2016 5:14am
It can appear for no apparent reason. Don't be alarmed it is totally natural and all you can do is find your best way to cope with it.
Anonymous
August 22nd, 2017 9:23pm
Depression can be physical and based on for example neurological reasons, nutritional reasons or perhaps hormonal reasons. It can also be life events, things that happen usually, or on occasion something that did not happen as we wanted or needed. It might be triggered by the normal course of life; fear of dying or someone dying, also of course a pet, is a big reasons for depression. As is loneliness.
sonofbard
August 15th, 2016 10:32pm
I find that there is usually a triggering event, but that the likelihood of these events becoming triggers depends on a raft of other factors including how much sleep I have had.
naturalhelper6843
January 10th, 2022 3:40pm
Depends what you mean by a ‘trigger’. If you mean, some sort of underlying cause, then yes, but if you mean an event or trauma, then no. Depression is, to the best of my understanding, a mental response to something. What that something is depends on the circumstances and the individual. Some people have a congenital predisposition to depression, some people inadvertently condition themselves into depression-inducing thought patterns, some people go through traumatic events that cause depression. If depression is caused through something congenital, such as some kind of flaw in your brain’s ability to deal with various hormones, there is no external cause. I fall into this category - I’ve been told that for someone who has dealt with depression their entire life, I’m remarkably resilient and have a surprisingly positive attitude. So despite having had a good mindset with no major traumas or anything like that for my entire life, something out-of-whack in my system causes me to have depression. There isn’t any ‘trigger,’ beyond having a few trick genes.
anonymous9irl
August 30th, 2016 5:06pm
It can be either, some people experience depression without any reason or trigger, unfortunately it can be something that just occurs.
JustJane43
December 13th, 2016 6:15am
Depression can absolutely develop with no clear "trigger." It is widely accepted that susceptibility to depression is passed on genetically. As a chemical imbalance in the brain, it does not require a "trigger" event to manifest.
Anonymous
November 13th, 2017 8:40am
There is often time a trigger event that over time gets lost due to our inattention to it. Especially for those who are chronically depressed, the beginning is usually very muddled.
penelopecelia
March 6th, 2018 1:11am
From personal experience, depression can definitely appear with no apparent reason. You don’t ever have to have a ‘reason’ to feel depressed and while certain events such as a death or bullying can cause depression, it’s totally possible that depression can seem to come out of nowhere
Anonymous
September 7th, 2020 11:07am
Well if the reason is not apparent to us, it does not mean that there is no reason. If one think he or she is not triggered at a certain moment, also does not mean that something haven`t pop up from their subconscious mind. Sometimes, or better, most of the time when we are depressed it is a sign that we need to have a rest. From all situations, people, impressions, our feelings and our projections and reflections and perceptions in and on the world we live in. It mostly seems that depression comes out of nowhere but in my own experience, it often arrived after accumulated unexpressed emotions and words. With or without clear reason, depression is like automatic body-soul alarm that says "stop, overview, relax, let it go..." So we are forced to stop and to look and listen. To find the reason. And will and strength to solve the puzzles.
helpfulsam99
July 12th, 2016 10:56pm
Depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain. It's an illness, so yes, sometimes it shows up for no apparent reason. Depression seems to be genetic since you can have a predisposition towards becoming depressed and it can run in families. Sometimes, of course, there's a trigger like chronic illness or the death of a loved one, but a lot of people who seem to have everything going for them develop depression- anyone can get depressed regardless of what they've experienced.
Th0mas
February 2nd, 2016 3:47pm
Emotions are just chemical reactions, reactions between molecules, everyone has more or less of those molecules in our organisms. So all of us are subjects to feel deppresed sometimes. Dont worry :)
Anonymous
February 1st, 2016 2:53am
Depression doesn't have to come with a trigger event, it can come out of nowhere for no apparent reason.
Shikamaru42
December 22nd, 2015 2:55am
Instead of one major trigger event there can be many minor ones - mostly the last one (the "final straw") is then considered the trigger, but obviously removing that one trigger won't do in that case since another one will most likely soon step in its place. Triggers aren't always apparent. In puberty for example, the overall stress and fear can cause depression without there even being a specific event. Also, there's phenomenons like seasonal depression which often seems as if there was no reason to it.
SilentSerenityy
October 26th, 2015 7:07pm
It's believed to be a chemical imbalance in the brain but often high levels of stress can trigger that imbalance, sometimes permanently.
Daisyko
September 22nd, 2015 9:39pm
No& yes. Depression is something that everyone can get. It doesn't have to be triggered. One day you might just think deeper about your life, you could start questioning things or wondering if something's wrong with you, your life or other things. If you see early signs of depression you should try to do something about it. Reach out to someone if you think you could have depression before it gets worse.
PoliteOcean
September 21st, 2015 4:38am
The best thing to do is to monitor yourself...Keep a journal of when you think or feel it occurs. And track your triggers or non triggers. Next thing you can do is to seek advice from a professional, counselor or therapist and go from there.
RideMikeRide
May 23rd, 2015 12:53am
Depression is a funny beast. It can either creep up on you for no apparent reason, or it can be caused by a specific event. In either case, understand that the intention of that beast is to make itself at home with you. So, start now to learn about actions you can take to evict this unwanted guest. Get support. Help others. Persist!
kokako
April 2nd, 2015 10:35am
In my experience (I am in remission from Major Depressive Disorder) there was no obvious trigger. For me genetics may be important - my father lived with it as does my sister. Please remember that "depression" is a word - it is not a life sentence