Tita is more than depressed.  When Chencha brings news that Tita's nephew, Roberto, is dead; Tita crumbles.  Tita was secretly breastfeeding Roberto and when the young child was separated from his nourishment, he starved to death.  Mama Elena has pushed her to the very end of her rope by pushing Pedro and Roberto far from the woman who loved them.  John fetches the naked and bloody Tita from the dovecote and takes her home to nurse her back to health.

There are a few reasons for her depression that are specific to the time right before she moves into John's house. First, she is sad about her nephew Roberto, who was sent away and who was almost like a son to her. Then she is further depressed after her doves are taken away by the rebels. Later, she hears of Roberto's death and breaks down crying. She is not comforted and instead is beaten by her mother for not obeying orders by not going back to work.

Of course, the root of her depression is the fact that her mother forbids her to marry the man she loves, Pedro.