I recently watched a documentary about how Yankee psychiatrists prescribe Xanax, antidepressants, and other psycho(dys)active crap to everyone 
. This trend has also reached Europe, so I decided to shed some light on the issue.
Depression as a pathology is a very real condition. The days are probably long gone when some smart-aleck psychologist would say things like, "Your problems are the result of childhood trauma," and so on. All of this is nonsense, of course, and has nothing to do with depression. But let's set aside such statements, which are completely primitive, and consider what modern educated psychologists and psychiatrists consider depression. A quote from one textbook on treating depression in children:
"Etiology. The causes of depression are not fully understood .
Depression can be caused by a combination of both external factors
(stressful events, family relationships, relationships with
peers) and internal factors (physical health,
genetic predisposition, and biochemical imbalances)."
To translate this into smart people's language : "Depression? I don't know what it is, but we'll try to treat it now":
"Currently, modern international guidelines
recommend SSRI antidepressants as first-line treatment
. Fluoxetine
has proven clinical efficacy for use in children
(from age 8)."
The causes aren't fully understood, but if it works, then let them take it and try to enjoy life. That's roughly the logic doctors use. 
To say it's flawed is an understatement. But oh well, that's the responsibility of doctors and pharmaceutical company owners. I'll tell you about the real causes of this condition:
In short, the cause of depression is largely neuroinflammation. As I write this, I remember how one young doctor tried to convince me that such a thing doesn't exist. Well, it wasn't there somewhere at her university, and it certainly isn't, but in general, it does exist.
Neuroinflammation is inflammation within neurons of the central nervous system. It's also called inflammation in the brain. The brain is a delicate thing, and inflammatory processes there differ from those in, say, the skin. For those interested in more details in Russian, I'll leave a link below.
What causes neuroinflammation? Roughly speaking, the main causes are infections and toxins.
Regarding infections, these are often herpes viruses. But man-made COVID and its S protein have now been added to this list (hello, vaccinators 
). Therefore, I offer free advice to psychiatrists: try giving patients Valavir instead of antidepressants.
Regarding toxins, it's complicated, or rather, there are many different types. Alcohol and drugs are obvious, but heavy metals can also be involved (hair tests and chelation); as well as less obvious things like phthalates and mycotoxins (complex lab tests and detox therapy), etc.
Regarding stress and head injuries, all of this also leads to neuroinflammation, but in my opinion, these factors are not constant, so they should be considered exceptions.
We all experience stress, and saying it's the sole cause of depression is simplistic. However, it's true that decreased stress tolerance leads to neuroinflammation and depression. Low stress tolerance is also found in people with compromised immune systems, such as those on bizarre diets, drinking heavily, working long hours on the computer, staying up all night, and so on. Keep this in mind.
The topic is broad, but I think I've provided some insight into "where to dig" without taking harmful antidepressants and other pointless advice from doctors.
https://habr.com/ru/post/425575/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33181270/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34233151/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30054585/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31207234/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32564518/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34917530/
