Everything You Need To Know About Family Depression: Causes, Effects, and Treatment

Depression isn’t always isolated. It can weave a long threat of despair.

Yes, just like diabetes and heart disease, depression runs in families. Family depression is a pervasive problem, and a growing body of research shows that it can introduce major difficulties in a child’s life. 

This multigenerational portrait of depression can be quite unsettling. In fact, if a parent has struggled with depression, the kid is three times more likely to become depressed than a child without a depressed parent. 

So, what is the cause of this multigenerational cycle of mental illness? In this blog post, our expert psychology counselors in Mumbai delve deep into this issue and shed more light on the causes, reasons, and possible treatment.

Family Depression: Genes or Environment?

Nature or nurture? Where does depression stem from? 

The answer is both. 

Depression is a complex disorder where both environment and genes play a role. So far, research says that there may be a genetic vulnerability that makes it more likely for some to develop depression. 

As a matter of fact, scientists have looked at patterns of mental illness in families to estimate their “heritability,” or roughly what percentage of their cause is due to genes.  

To get to the bottom of this, scientists have studied people with a disease who have a twin to find out whether the twin also has an illness. Identical twins share 100% of the genes, whereas non-identical twins share 50%. 

If genes are variable in the equation, a person’s identical twin has a much higher risk of disease than an on-identical twin. 

That holds for major depression. Heritability is typically around 40-50% and might be greater for severe depression.

Also Read: Family Counselling For Conflict Resolution

What About Non-Genetic Factors?

There are many non-genetic factors that contribute to depression, many of which are unknown. Childhood physical and sexual abuse, emotional neglect, and stress are already factors that contribute to the risk. Losing a parent also increases this risk. 

To reiterate the fact, if depression runs in the family, be it a sibling or parent, the person has a 2-3 times greater risk of developing depression.

How Does Family Depression Affect Children?

Whether it’s genetics or environment, family depression shapes a child’s experience of the world externally and internally. 

Depressed parents interact with their children differently in a manner that affects child development. For instance, depressed mothers use less expressivity and emotions in their interactions with their babies, along with less eye contact. 

Family depression also impacts many parental activities. Even simple acts like reading a story to a child may be affected. 

In many concerning cases, isolation may occur for parents and children. This limits the social life of both.

Research also links familial depression to a wide range of lifelong problems. Parental bonding and nurturing are interrupted, which may cause parents to be unable to do the necessary things to keep children healthy and safe. 

For school-age children, a depressive environment at home may limit their ability to perform well academically.

How to Treat Family Depression?

Family origins and dynamics play an important role in the prevention of depression development. 

Considering the high prevalence of depression across the Indian population, it is important that we intervene to prevent this spreading at a societal level. 

Parents need to seek help from professional family counselors in Mumbai to resolve their inherent conflicts so that they don’t spill over onto their children. 

During therapy, parents learn how they should deal with their issues and how to behave around and with their children. They are made aware of the effect of their actions and words on the young. 

Additional treatment approaches may include sessions with the child and parent together to help the parent learn to be more sensitive to the child’s cues and build attachment.

How Faculty Minds Can Help You

Our earliest experiences with our families shape our tendencies, biases, and what we consider “normal.” 

Through the therapy process, our psychology counselors in Mumbai help you learn what part of those early learnings serve you and what doesn’t–what might need to be uprooted, unlearned, and what needs to be planted and learned. 

Ultimately, we help you unpack influential constructs and break down unwarranted narratives that you continue to perpetuate but don’t serve you anymore. 

Start a fresh new journey of life at Faculty Minds. Connect with us today to connect with yourself better.