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An individual who may be predisposed to be depressed can sometimes rise above it. However, it is far more likely that being abused, poor, neglected or separated from loved ones will encourage an already burgeoning depression. It has been found, for example, that older women whose spouses have died and whose family has moved away often develop what is known as a 'failure to thrive'. When no one needs you and you have no one to nag you about your health or call you to see what your opinion of the weather is, you may, in fact, fall prey to depression, which can, in turn, exacerbate physical symptoms that can lead to illness or death. 
There are several types of depression that may stem from either psychological or physiological causes or both. Depression can be unipolar, showing all the above symptoms, or it can be bipolar, where the individual shows first a hopeless, helpless state and then one that is just the opposite. Alternatively, depression may be triggered by external circumstances, such as a change of seasons.
Significant loss, difficult relationships, financial issues or a major change in life pattern have all been cited as contributors to depressive illness. Sometimes the onset of depression is linked with acute/chronic physical illness. Additionally, substance abuse occurs in about one-third of people with a type of depressive disorder.
Often, the link between what happens to a person and how they feel as a result depends on how they relate to it. That does not mean that people who become depressed are to be blamed, it simply gives an insight into why depression occurs. This is clear as we are all aware of people enduring the most horrible circumstances imaginable without becoming clinically depressed.
Events can be seen to be a trigger for depression, but depression is not caused by what happens to us in life. It is how individuals respond and make sense of events that can lead to depression.
References
The Black Dog Institute
Depression Learning Path
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