Question: What would you say is the biggest cause of anxiety of depression?

Peter Kinderman answered on 13 Mar 2020:

Well… I’ve already answered a similar question, so apologies for the ‘cut and paste’ answer, but:
OK… so that’s a HUGE question.
I mean, huge… about on the scale of ‘why do bad things happen to good people’… and we’ve been trying to answer that question since before we worked out how to make clothes.
But here’s my take…
First.. a VERY simple answer: https://peterkinderman.blogspot.com/2013/01/things-in-simple-language.html
Then… more complicated: https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/allinthemind/does-mental-illness-exist/9130774
And more complicated, but personal, here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/our-turbulent-minds/202002/me-my-brain-and-baked-beans
And then, today…
Well… we’re all different, biologically, genetically, and that might make a TINY difference to how we react to things (some people may be more prone to think deeply about things, to see threats, to be trusting). And so it’s possible that may have a role… But, mainly, I think we get depressed and anxious (and have other problems) because of the things that happen to us, and how we’ve learned to make sense of them.
That means we have to think not so much about whether or not “it’s biological” or “it’s psychological” (“it’s nature” or “it’s nurture”), because it’s ALWAYS going to be both.
I think we need to think about – sorry to be technical – sources of variance.
So… how much are the differences between us in terms of whether or not we develop anxiety or depression best explained by biological differences, or different experiences?
Well.. we do know that people respond differently to the same event (say, being bullied). But is THAT because there’s some difference in their brains, or because the experiences they’ve had mean that they’ve LEARNED to react differently?
IN MY OPINION…. our beliefs, emotions and behaviours – including our mental health – are the product of the way we think about the world, our thoughts about ourselves, other people, the world and the future. These thoughts are, in turn, the product of a process of learning. They are the consequence of our learning. Our experiences, the life events we’ve encountered, our social circumstances and, importantly, how we have understood and responded to these, have shaped our understanding of the world. Our brain is a supremely efficient engine of learning, and makes sense of our experiences. The resultant framework of understanding (or mental model) of the world is responsible for our thoughts, beliefs, behaviours and emotions. Differences between people’s learning experiences will result in different ways of understanding the world, and hence differences between people.