Depression Paper

Depression Paper

Depression is a severe mental disorder that causes an individual to experience intervals of sorrow and/or other downbeat feelings and sensations. People who are depressed can feel extremely hopeless in their day to day activities causing them to lose interest in family, friends, employment, and social situations. Depression can exert itself via physical emanations such as aches, fatigue, lost of appetite, or other symptoms (Berger, 2005) .

While Depression is prevalent in both males and females, statistics show that clinical depression (depression requiring professional intervention) affects up to 3 times the amount of women as it does men. There are several theories as to what may be causing this increased inclination of depression on the part of women (Women and Depression, 2005).

There is strong evidence that there is a significant link between mood transformations and reproductive differences related to a woman's gender. Significant gender disparity in depression rates surfaces around puberty for women and remains significantly elevated over men throughout the female lifespan into middle age. Hormones are believed to play a significant role in these discrepancies between males and females. It is estimated that almost 40 % of women experience premenstrual mood changes while a smaller 10% experience more severe changes that can be classified as clinical depression and can be extremely impairing (Women and Depression, 2005). A Canadian study indicates that in the Canadian population aged 15 to 24 the percentage of Canadian men that have a depressive disorder within a 12 month period is 4.5% while the percentage of women that have a depressive disorder is 8.3%. The study also indicates an even higher difference on the part of women with lifetime percentages of depressive disorders in men at 6.6% while 13.9% of women will have a depressive disorder within their lifetime. The research indicates that there may be some point in adolescence that could be fundamental to altering depression later in life, both in men and women, but it is clear that there is some factor, or more likely a combination of factors, that causes higher rates of depression in women both within a specific time frame or during their entire lifetimes (Nyguyen, 2005).

Reproductive differences factor in depression related to birthing as well. Estimates are that as much as 15% of women will encounter some form of clinical depression at some point in a pregnancy or after the birth of a child. Some researchers believe this number to be as high as 25% (Ebony, 2005). This is in addition to the near 80% of women that will have a short period of mood change after pregnancy. This Postpartum depression can include mood swings, crying spells, loss of appetite, irritability, loneliness, and more. Many women will not tell friends and family of these symptoms because they feel embarrassed or guilty about these feelings when they should be feeling happy (Postpartum Depression). Old beliefs were that women experienced very low rates of depressive illnesses during pregnancy but more recent studies refute this. There is some discussion as to the cause of this form of depression but some studies have indicated that there maybe be hormonal and chemical changes in the body during and after pregnancy that can trigger a depressive state. Research indicates that if a woman has experienced postpartum depression she has a 70% chance of experiencing postpartum depression after subsequent pregnancies (Women and Depression, 2005).

It is believed that there are genetic factors that can cause a predisposition to depression. Statistics show a higher prevalence of depressive illnesses in first and second female relatives causing the risk of a depressive illness to be 25% higher in women who have a first or second relative that has a depressive disorder (Women and Depression, 2005).

Psychological and social aspects may add to the increase in the risk of depressive illnesses in women. Women are often more susceptible and more indoctrinated with common causes of depression including increased stress of work and family responsibilities as women are often required to do more of the household work and child care duties while possibly still having to hold down a significant work schedule. Women are more susceptible to physical and sexual abuse, discrimination, poor social support structures, and poverty. Studies have indicated that these factors can play a significant part in the psychological make up of a person and as women face significantly increased risk of these factors they can have lowered levels of self-esteem and more tendencies toward depressive behavior (Women and Depression, 2005).

Treatments for depression can vary, one popular method is a combination of personal therapy and behavioral therapy. This has been shown to be very effective in moderate cases of depression, especially cases related to pregnancy (Women and Depression, 2005). This methods involve targeting life problems that are affecting an individual psychologically and to then create and meet goals to overcome these issues. This methods can also be very effective in cases where a person has been depressed at some other life point by identifying the causes and solutions of the previous depressive illnesses and using that as a resource to solve the current dilemma. (Postpartum Depression). This method is recommended for women who are pregnant or breast feeding as medications