Depression can affect both the genders; however it's not the same. there are some differences in the way depression affects women, it not only affects them more, but in some cases with greater severity as well. Women are twice as likely to get depression, in US 12 million women experience depression in one year, also it's been established that about 1 in every eight women is likely to suffer from this horrid illness during their lifetime. a large part of these statistics has been blamed on the hormonal changes that a woman goes through during her lifetime. apart from these other reasons include work overload, women juggle through multitude roles during their lifetime. Also they are more vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse, which is a huge reason for depression to take its toll.
Though most of the signs and symptoms of depression are same in both men and women degree of severity maybe higher, also they experience some symptoms more recurrently than men. apart from feeling unhappy, worthless, guilty tired and lethargic they also experience some symptoms in the other way round. for example during atypical depression men commonly loose weight rapidly and tend to eat and sleep less. on the contrary, women sleep and eat a lot more and also put on weight rather than shed it. Seasonal affective disorder, which affects people during the winter months due to less sunshine attacks women more frequently than men and is also more profound.
Mainly the causes of depression can be segregated as biological, social and cultural, psychological, however the biological ones are mostly responsible for triggering it. Biological disorders mainly deal with the hormonal changes that ladies go through. PMDD or the premenstrual dysphoric disorder and PMS or premenstrual syndrome are the two disorders which occur due to the hormonal changes that take place during the menstrual cycle of women, due to these women experience irritability, tiredness, fatigue and emotional instability. Pregnancy is also a glaring cause, depression relating to pregnancy is not only governed by the hormonal changes but also the emotional ones like an unwanted pregnancy or miscarriage; infertility is also a major reason. Postpartum depression or baby blues is another problem that women experience just after they give birth, mostly it can be attributed to hormonal changes and is likely to subside with a few weeks, however if it doesn't then special care and attention is needed. Peri-menopause and menopause is found among women who are near this state, this also occurs due to hormonal fluctuations and is more likely to affect women who have had depression earlier in their lives.
Some Facts About Depression in Women
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