Hi there. Last time I blogged I promised that I would discuss toxic chemicals in those that have had depression from a young age.

If you’ve had depression and other mental health conditions for a lot of your life, exposure to toxic chemicals at a young age or during utero (when you were in the womb) should be ruled out. I believe that this is especially important if you have no family history of depression or other mental illness.

Were you Exposed to Chemicals as a Baby or Child? Could it Be Causing Your Depression?

It is possible that as a baby or child you were exposed to a chemical that has affected the function of your brain, and therefore your mood ever since. Just like toxic chemicals can poison people and lead to death, cancer and infertility- toxins can also cause depression.

I suggest that you start by asking your family whether you could have been exposed to any toxic chemicals prior to the onset of your depression.

If possible, ask someone in your family if during your younger years you were exposed to a broken thermometer, handled liquid mercury, played in areas which were sprayed with pesticides, or whether your mother had dental procedures during her pregnancy with you? Were there any renovations being done on your home when you were a child? Could you have accidently eaten flakes of lead paint? Try to find out as much as you can about possible exposure to toxins at a young age.

Removing the Toxic Exposure Won’t Just Stop the Depression

This question is actually relevant to most depression sufferers that don’t have a family history of depression. The exposure to the chemical could have happened at any age. Sometimes it takes years for the chemical to affect you- and unfortunately just removing yourself from the source of the chemical isn’t always enough.

For example- there are some studies on men that did manganese welding for a job. They have higher rates of depression, anxiety, and hostility. Unfortunately, even 14 years after giving up their job of welding (and therefore not being exposed to the toxic chemical manganese) they still suffered from this mood problems.

There are some chemicals like heavy metals and pesticides that the body just can’t get rid of on its own. Your body may need some help.

We’ll leave it there for today. Go talk to your mother if possible, or other family members, and find out if you may have been exposed to any toxins in the womb, or as a child. And if you haven’t already think about when the symptoms of depression first started (even if just mild), and see if there is any correlation to a change in job, hobby, location, renovation, new furniture, or surgery.

Get curious- I’d love to hear what you discover.

All the best

Janelle

Dr Janelle Sinclair

To download a free report which discusses ALL of the 7 Self help Depression questions (and how to interpret them) visit http://www.breakingfreefromdepression.com