Hi Lynn,
I'm a medical student with a fair bit of interest in depression.
Certainly there is a genetic predisposition towards depression (as well as anxiety) that runs in families.
It's important to remember that depression, as with most chronic illnesses, is multifactorial. That means it's never just your genes. Heart disease has strong heriditary factors but modifying your lifestyle can hugely diminue your chances of ever having heart problems.
You shouldn't feel powerless because you're predisposed to something, you have tremendous control over your own life.
