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By Gennady Musher MD, PhD  2018

First the good news about all the bad news you might be reading and seeing these days: Bad news cannot cause depression. Depression is a complex biological illness, and in my professional practice as a psychiatrist, I have seen nothing to suggest that depression rates are rising in a response to the barrage of negative stories we’re hearing and seeing in the media these days. And none of the copious research on depression has concluded that it can be caused by exposure to negative media.

The roots of depression go deeper than environmental factors. After all, some people can suffer trauma and go on to live a normal life, while other people might become depressed over seemingly slight setbacks. Our responses to life’s vicissitudes are determined by the interaction of biology and environment — nature and nurture — and are as individual as each of us.…