You don't need trauma to be depressed. A lot of people don't know why they are depressed, and think they have no reason to be depressed. Emma McAdam believes this is due to micro habits building up negativity , that outweigh the positive in people's lives and make them feel depressed.

According to her, our nervous system would have a shutdown mode past a tipping point, past which it reinforces negativity and makes us flip from "It's okay I can make it" to "This is pointless, l give up."

McAdam listed those habits:

1. Dismissing the positive , like rejecting compliments or discounting the positive, e.g. "I did it but anyone can do that" or "It's a beautiful sunset, that must be pollution."
2. Self-punishment when you make a mistake, e.g. "I'm such a loser, why can't I do that." Many people believe that self-criticism motivates improvement but research shows it fuels shame and inaction.
3. Blaming yourself for having emotions , e.g. "I feel guilty for being depressed," "I'm weak for having anxiety." It is normal to feel emotions, including negative ones,
4. Withdrawing from life , either avoiding opportunities or canceling plans, to avoid facing difficult situations. This leads to isolation, which makes you feel worse, which in turn leads to more isolation.
5. Numbing behaviors , the past generation raised their kids asking them to bottle their emotions, and as a result people often try to get distracted from their emotions by eating something, looking at their phone, or even becoming a workaholic to distract themselves from their poor self-image. These are strategies not to feel bad, instead of accepting it and working through it.
6. Rumination , thinking about the past, everything you screwed up or could have done better. The brain mistakes this for problem solving but it keeps you stuck in negativity.
7. Self-neglect , e.g. having too little sleep, too little exercise, unhealthy eating, fuels depression.
8. Waiting for motivation , e.g. "I'll wait until I feel like it before getting out of bed." We often think motivation leads to action, but the opposite is true: motivation follows action. We need to take even micro steps towards a goal to be motivated.
9. Emotional reasoning , e.g. "If I feel anxious I must be an awkward person." Feelings aren't facts, and separating them is key to solving depression.
10. All-or-nothing thinking , e.g. "if I can't do a full workout, why bother at all?" or "If I mess up at work, I should quit." This fuels depression. Usually any small action is better than no action.
11. Victim mindset , "life is unfair, I can't do anything about it." It comes up when you're asked to take action: "I can't, because..." The opposite is a growth mindset: "What can I do about it."
12. Nothing will change mindset , fuels depression too.

Those micro habits add up and makes our nervous system flip from resilience to depression. The good news is that those habits can be unlearned by paying attention to them, which according to McAdam makes the nervous system flip back from depression to resilience.

I believe this list is useful to bear in mind, and taking action against those bias is likely to help people stay positive. I also believe depression is a mental illness and that people who experience it need to be supported on their way to healing. If you feel depressed, please go see a doctor even if it feels unsurmountable, and ask for help.