That depends on who you ask. Many say yes, many more say no. The most sense that I’ve read suggests that the predisposition to certain levels of brain chemicals is hereditary. This article from the University of Michigan Depression Center says both.
I lean more towards the environmental. If you are a child of depressed parents, that’s going to be a learned experience. I’ve seen both of my kids suffer from it, not to the degree I have yet and hopefully never. The important thing is to keep communication open and learn coping skills. I think I taught them better coping skills than I know how to utilize.
I lost my brother to suicide and it almost killed me. I somehow felt that it was okay for me to feel that bad but it was totally unacceptable to me that he did. I personally lay it all on environment though I won’t go into all that on this post.
While recognizing that the experience differs for everyone, and that each of us must decide for ourselves the degree to which we’re willing to compromise, I discovered some years ago that having full access to my emotions, including the extreme ends of the gamut, is essential to my work in the arts.
Blunted, controlled, or corralled, a narrowed range concomitantly limits my ability to write, perform, paint, or take photographs and, as far as I’m concerned, that cost is far too high.
Churchill’s “black dog” can be warily held at bay as a dangerous threat, or welcomed as a demanding, but often useful companion; our ability to cope can be either assisted or diminished by the perspective we choose to embrace.
Best wishes,
Shoshanna
http://www.mindworksunlimited.com/shoshanna