i often feel completely bored and have no desire to do any of the work i should be doing. i wonder if i have a mild depression, or if i just need to increase the interesting things in my life. how does depression start, what causes it (other than a chemical imbalance)?

Often depression and anxiety are the result of stresses and life events that become overwhelming to handle. There is no real chemical "imbalance", there is simply an inability for the body and mind to cope with the current levels of stress and anxiety at the normal neurotransmitter levels. For example, I was fine, emotionally, before I went to nursing school. After I started, I had to deal with a really difficult curriculum, a diagnosis of near-cancer (which needed fairly quick intervention), nearly dying with 2 different pregnancies, long hospitalizations from pregnacies, the birth of 2 prematurely born disabled children, dropping out, starting back, dropping out, starting back.... you get the picture. By the last semester I was seriously out-of-control emotionally and wasn't taking the stress well enough to maybe even graduate. So my doctor put me on anti-anxiety agents. That helped immensely, I began to "fit in my skin" again, and I managed to finish college with minimal trouble.

Sherasi does bring out some good points regarding how depression starts. But since you don't mention typical symptoms such as unexplained crying, inability to sleep (or sleeping too much), loss of appetite, etc then it is quite possible you just need to add some variety to your lifestyle. We all get in a rut from living by a fixed routine and this applies to our work duties as well. If you have something to look forward to, such as a new hobby, then mundane jobs can go faster. Think about what interests you and then find a way to apply those interests to your daily living. In time you should stop feeling bored.
By the way, everyone gets bored from time to time. I do when I'm at work....that's why I post answers on Answerpool! LOL

I think people get too hung up on labels.  If you often feel completely bored and have no desire to do any of the work i should be doing, then that is clearly a bad thing, whether you call it "depression", or not.

This may sound rather old-fashioned, but I would recommend that you take up some active, outdoor activity.  Horse-riding or sailing or hill-walking, or something like that.  It's not a modern, touchy-feely solution, but try it anyway. I think you will find it will do you the power of good!

Best wishes.

I totally agree with den0eng3. What you are feeling may be just some lack of motivation. For example how much did you like your work in the first place? Has it always been like this? How old are you? How long have you been feeling this? Has this feeling caused you any trouble in work, school of social aspects? Have you been eating well? Sleeping well?
There is a VERY large list of questions one must make to a patient before being able to diagnose depression. If you want to give me more details about what you have been feeling I would be glad to help you.

I just recently saw someone for depression and she said that sometimes a illness can trigger something in your brain and make you depressed. Which I thought was very interesting. I have been very sick for the last 3 years mainly in the winter. She also said that when you are depressed you catch more colds and are sick more often. She thought my depression could of been coming from the death of my baby, Childbirth, father dying, being sick all the time, and developing diabetes. She put me on Wellbutrin and I feel better than I have in 3 years and I am not even up to the max dose she wants me on. I feel alive again. I put off seeing one for such a long time so my suggestion is talk to your doctor please.

thanks everyone,
i think i just need to add more spice to my days. my job is often pretty boring and uninteresting.
otherwise, i have no problems with sleeping or unexplained crying.

People sometimes fail to make the distinction between "situational" depression (caused by outside influences) and "clinical" depression caused, it is believed - probably because chemicals can "fix it" - by chemical imbalances in the brain. I suffer from manic depression and have been routinely thrown into acute, suicidal depression when things were going fine in my life. Talk about not being interested in your work, I wasn't even interested in play. I wasn't interested in my kids, my grandkids, my friends (what friends?) or even my life. I just wanted to die, convinced this would never end. But when I was in the manic state I was deliriously in love with everything, and would have stayed happy in the face of any sad event. I have studied depression and suggest that anyone who is interested do the same.

It sounds like you are just getting sick of the stress of a job that you aren't happy in. From my experience, there is noting much worse that a job that takes so much time from your life that you just aren't happy with. Maybe this has gone on a little too long to the point that it is just exhausting your other emotions.

Yes, it does sound like a form of depression to me. I don't think medication to cover the problem so you can go on with "life as is" is the best solution for you. It's time for some change in your life and I would start with the job. There are many options and opportunities out there for you. You just have to start looking and find something you feel you can look forward to.

I also have to agree that exercise is a great way to relieve stress. Go for walks or just get out and do something to burn a few calories.