As opposed to looking at the causes of depression as if depression were a completely understood condition, let's rather look at it in manageable little packets.

Educating yourself and making sure that you fully understand the risk factors related to depression will go a long way in making decisions with the treatment of the depression.

Also, let's not forget that everyone in this world is unique and so to are the factors and causes of the depression.

Some people may experience side effects of increased sleep and fatigue while in a state of depression and on the other hand, some people may react to depression with excess energy and overdriven modes of behavior.

Risk factors related to depression:

Age

Although major depression generally only occurs in people between the ages of 25 and 50, those over the age of 65 are also particularly vulnerable also.

Gender

Women are about twice as likely as men in the United States to be diagnosed and treated for depression. About 20-25% of women and 12% of men will experience a serious bout of depression at least one time in their lifetimes.

As for children, depression shows up equally in both boys and girls. As children begin to grow and reach the adolescence stage however, girls tend to become more depressed than boys. This gender imbalance of major depression then continues on into adulthood.

Recent stats have been showing an increasing number of men seeking out self improvement therapy but historically women are more likely to seek treatment for depression.

Marital Status

For the men it pretty much comes down to "happy wife... happy life." Couples that are happily married have considerably lower cases of depression. People who are unhappily married, separated or divorced have high rates of major depression.

Now, these risk factors do not imply that if you are in this category that you will suffer from depression, everyone can and does develop depression from time to time.

Ryan Puusaari is the creator of the website => http://www.conquerdepression.net
Check it out to learn more about conquering your depression now.