Can Women Get Depression? (Men's Guide!) #Mental Health Study Series (3)
Let's jump straight to the topic of today. If you're a guy who is in a relationship or married with someone who suffers from depression, let's understand this topic as a way to understand your partner easily.
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Depression comes in many different forms and most affected is in women (i may be wrong, but according to my research, women suffers from depression is quite high compared to men.). Women have many life roles which includes as a mother, wife, employee, friend, healer, caregiver and the list can goes on. I guess, even if you were to list out, I can guarantee it'll be more than 3 pages of paper or notebook. The complexity of all of these roles can cause ups and downs throughout our entire life. Some of these mood changes may be due to live events. It can varies. For example :
- Getting an argument with friends (be it close, best or a friend)
- Hormonal issues (pregnancy, menstrual cycle)
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Major depression is a severe form of depression where individual loses their ability to find pleasure in activities that was once considered enjoyable. In addition, it affects individual ability to work, sleep, eat in normal and effective manners and usually negatively impacts interpersonal and social relationships. With major depression, which is also known as major depressive disorder, individual state may persist for a very extended period of time and is often accompanied with low self-esteem.
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Post-partum Depression
This depression is a special form of depression that occurs after the birth of a baby, which is often referred to as the "baby blues". Typical symptoms of depression begins in the months of following the birth, however, in some women, they can occur while still pregnant.
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Persistent Depressive Disorder
Considered as a milder form of depression which is an extended depressed mood that lasts for two years or more. Major depressive disorder (which is more severe forms of depression) may still occur during persistent depressive disorder.
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Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
Depression that is tied to a women's menstrual cycle. In this form of depression, severe mood swings, anxiety and negative thoughts present themselves in the week prior to the start of menstruation and it dissipates once the menstrual period begins. Depressive symptoms are severe enough to negatively impacts interpersonal relationships and interfere with daily activities.
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Here is some of the distinguishing factors in how depressions differ between women and men includes :
- Women feels anxious and scared ; Men feels guarded.
- Women blame themselves for the depression ; Men blame others.
- Women commonly feel sad, worthless and apathetic when depressed ; Men tend to feel irritable and angry.
- Women are more likely to avoid conflicts when depressed ; Men are more likely to create conflicts.
- Women turn to food and friends to self-medicate ; Men turn to alcohol, TV, sex or sports to self-medicate.
- Women feel lethargic and nervous ; Men feel agitated and restless.
- Women easily talk about their feelings of self-doubt and despair ; Men hide their feelings of self-doubt and despair, considering as a sign of weakness.
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What Causes Depression in Women?
There are a multitude of genetic, hormonal, psychological and social factors that comes into play when citing the cause of depression in women.
Biologically, depression runs in families, which with supporting scientific evidence that some genetic makeups are more prone to depression whereas some genetic makeups are more resistant to it. Though, environmental factors are thought to interact with genetic predispositions and that is just because individuals may be prone to depression because of individuals genes, healthy family and social relationships can increase resilience. Other biological and hormonal factors are also likely to increase individual chances of suffering from depression. Issues of pregnancy, fertility, peri-menopause, menopause and menstrual cycles increases women's risk factors of developing depression, most of these are due to hormonal imbalances and rapid fluctuations in reproductive hormones. Health problems in general especially those with chronic illness or disability can prompt depression in women, as can medical life changes such as frequent dieting and smoking cessation.
As for psychological causes, women are more prone than men because with a tendency to be more emotional, women are more likely to rehash negative thoughts during the period of depression. While it's normal response to cry, talk with friends and also rehash why it is that individuals are in your depressive state, research studies have shown that ruminating about depression can cause it to last longer and make it worse. In the contrast men tend to distract themselves from their depressive state which has shown to reduce the duration of symptoms. Additional psychological factors is that it affects women over men in terms of negative body images and stress-induced depression. Women are more prone to stress than men because of their increased levels of progesterone which research have been shown to prevent stress hormones from levelling out. Negative body images issues are likely to begin in adolescence and seem to be correlated with the onset of puberty in women.
Social causes such as coping skills, choices of relationships and lifestyle choices affect women differently than men. As a woman, she is more likely to develop depression from marital or relationship problem, work life balance issues, financial troubles and stressful life events, loss of loved one.
National Institutes of Health also indicates the following which increases the risk factors of depression in women ;
- Death of a parent before the age of 10.
- Job loss.
- Relationship problems.
- Divorce.
- Physical or sexual abuse during childhood.
- Use certain medications.
- History of mood disorders.
- Feelings of emptiness, hopelessness, despair and sadness.
- Irritability, anxiousness and guilt.
- Feelings of exhaustions, severe tiredness.
- Loss of interest in previous pleasurable activities.
- Inability to concentrate or remember details.
- Suicidal thoughts or attempts of suicide.
- Sleep disturbances ; such as sleeping too much or too little (insomnia).
- Changes in appetite ; eating too much or too little.
- Physical symptoms ; aches and pains, cramps, headaches, digestive issues, breast tenderness or bloating.
- Lack of energy.
- Feeling out of control.
- Mood swings and feelings of tearfulness.
- Panic attacks.
- Feelings of tension.
- Disinterest in daily activities and relationships.
- Family doctors.
- Employee assistance programs.
- Mental health centers.
- Social agencies.
- Mental health specialist.
- Private clinics.
- State hospitals such as outpatient clinics
- Health maintenance organizations.