Opinions please. Can a unchangable situation be depression?

[friedzucchini]

I'm trying to understand if depression is a condition we're born with or a condition of how a person is feeling. Does it always have to be related to a chemical imbalance?

Examples

Question 1.
Someone is wrongfully sent to jail. They know this will be their whole life and no retrial. They cry every day about being caged. There is no sign that this sadness will end BECAUSE every day they wake up in the same jail. In this example the JAIL is causing the HURT. It never goes away because the situation causing it is constant. Is that depression?

Question 2.
While jailed this person will repeatedly try to commit suicide, not talk to anyone, not want to eat. This person is not able to adjust to jail. This has been going on for 2 years. Is this depression?

Question 3.
Finally, evidence shows they were wrongfully charged, and released from jail. Their sadness and pending doom is completely gone the instant they heard they were to be set free. Can depression just end on the spot like that with no sign there ever was depression days, years before?

Question 4.
Finally, while in jail, would antidepressants help this person cope with being stuck in that situation what was unchangeable?

1.  yes/no
2.  yes/no
3.  yes/no
4.  yes/no

[JustHelp123]

Hmmm, a bit of a loaded question friedzucchini.  It is believe that the hormones (chemical balances) in our brains do control thoughts and moods.  When someone enters a negative environment, it can upset their hormones.  I would be surprised if someone left prison and was completely normal and happy two weeks later.  So, to cut to the point 1.Yes 2.Yes 3.No 4.Yes (possibly).  People are certainly given antidepressants while in jail, if asked for, for a reason.  If someone's feeling depressed, they believe that neurons aren't producing enough, accepting enough, or returning enough of these chemical messengers (hormones like serotonin, dopamine etc).  Instantly leaving prison wouldn't make these instantly return to their natural state.  Antidepressants can help get things normal until the circumstances are better and the person can titrate off the medications.

The reason I am so interested in this hypothetical series of questions is that I have bipolar depression, something there is no history in any of my extended family.  When I was 3 years old, I fell head first from a bunk bed and was in a coma for around half a day.  There is a possibility that this damaged my brain and has caused my mental illness.  No way of me knowing at this point. The video I've linked below helps describe some of the ways that the brain affects moods and mental health.  It is around 15 minutes long and shows some profound information about mental illness and disorders.  It's around 15 minutes long.

The most important lesson from 83,000 brain scans | Daniel Amen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esPRsT-lmw8