There have been many documented cases of writers, poets, rebels and expats who have fought for a better country and lost. These politicos have strong beliefs and put their life on the line for their country, only to see corruption, totalitarianism, despotism and ruthlessness rule the day. Running out of hope and losing the ability to affect change can profoundly affect one's mental health.



I beg to differ with the the chemical imbalance theory being the cause of depression. Drug companies like to talk about chemical imbalance because it suggests that their pills can correct it, but most experts in the field dismiss this theory these days.



Depression is a sense of hopelessness and helplessness, which is something that can be learned from your upbringing or taken from a situation. When everything you believe in is crushed. When your strongly held beliefs are shown to be useless, one can certainly fall into depression, and yes, suicide is often seen as an answer for these people. You can fall into depression about anything you feel strongly about when you feel helpless to change it.