Women and Depression: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
By: James S.
Submitted: 2008-10-10 06:45:09 | Word Count: 494
Depression and women are closely related to each other. Depression in women is undeniable. Depression as a disease affects almost 10 percent of women.
It hampers the social, personal and professional life of women. Women tend to suffer from depression twice as more as their men counterpart. These kind of depressions are a great risk to the mental health, especially among young women. It mainly happens in women as they are in general more emotional than their male counterpart. They pile up loads of emotions in their mind without venting them.
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Symptoms
There are several symptoms which can predict whether a woman is under depression or not. When depressed she does not find any interest in activities she enjoyed before. She starts blaming herself for everything and can also have suicidal tendencies. She may feel unwanted.
Depression is usually accompanied with disturbed sleep, change in diet, low concentration and difficulty decision making, impatience and irritation and weakness.
Causes of depression
Women generally suffer from similar kind of depressions. Some of them are explained by the experts as psychological, biological, social causes:
Biological causes include the problem of premenstrual problem such as itchiness, bloating, weakness etc which disturbs their lives. Problem of pregnancy and unproductiveness, issues like unwanted pregnancy, or miscarriage can lead to depression. Some women suffer from the postpartum depression when they experience baby blues.
Social causes include the problem of role strain which means playing different roles at same time, physical and mental abuse, lack of status and power in society, dissatisfaction in relationships and poverty.
Psychological causes include the problem of coping mechanism, stress response, puberty and body image which creates depression in women.
Women suffering from medical illness unable to fulfill her physical needs can result in depression. Any kind of financial crises, imbalance in relationships or any stressful act leads to depressive disorder.
Besides this there are other types of depression which include major depression – the most common depressive disorder. Less severe depressive disorder is dysthymia. Another type of depression is manic depressive illness which is not very common.
Treatments available
Various treatments are available for depressions, which include Antidepressant medications, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), Psychotherapy.
Women should consult a doctor about the cause of their depression. Birth control medicines and hormone substitution therapy are also very effective in solving your biological problems.
Interpersonal therapy and cognitive behavior therapy are really effective in improving personal relationship and making them healthy. This reduces the creation of negative thoughts in your mind.
Women suffering from depression must try and be practical. Don’t let negative thoughts come to the mind and make sue you get proper treatment. Go for physical examinations. Make sure you exercise regularly as exercise is the best medicine for your depression.
They tend to flush out your negative radiations and give you positive vibes. Taking regular well balanced nutritious diet also helps in lowering down the depression level. If you are suffering from depression don t wait to act.
