Are Women Prone to Depression Because they are The Weaker Gender?

Posted by admin on September 19, 2008

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The obvious answer to the above question is a big no; however there is need for every woman out there to realize that they are likely to get depressed than men.

I am inspired to write about this after watching a young woman close and special to me go through this oppressive sickness.

It is common knowledge that life is full of emotional predicaments, and as normal people who understand this, we know we must fight back to survive.

Nonetheless, when distresses endure and interfere with a person’s ability to function, such a person could be suffering from frequent but a severe psychological problem called depression.

Women are almost twofold as likely as men to experience depression and therefore the need for them to increase their awareness levels, so they can seek early and the right cure.

Depressive disorder is an entire body sickness, involving your physical, emotional and intellectual health, but not to be looked at as an ailment of the weak characters.

The general factors believed to cause depression in women more than men are attached to the biological or genetic aspect, reproductive, hormonal changes, physical abuse, interpersonal, psychological and personality traits.

The specific causes might call for extensive research because up to this day they remain unclear.

Types of depression

The three main types of depression include:

Bipolar which is also called the mania depression

It is associated with increased talking, increased activity including sexual activities, poor judgment leading to risk taking behaviors, irritability and severe insomnia.

Dysthymia

It has the same symptoms as bipolar but milder and will last for about two years.

Major depression also called unipolar or clinical depression.

It is characterized by persistent sad, anxious or ‘empty’ mood, loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities, guilt feelings, sleeping too much or early morning awakening, Suicidal thoughts, persistent physical disorders among others.

Symptoms of depression in women

The symptoms of depression may vary from a person to another and so is the intensity that varies with the severity of the depression

However these are the symptoms I noticed when a young woman who is close and special to me suffered a major depression. This happened after her college years. (Let’s call her Ann)

Something tells me that if anyone of us who are close to her was able to read her psychological behavior pattern as early as two years earlier, then her problem could not have become a depressive disorder.

Early signs

She was persistently sad or anxious, or an empty mood, at times she would keep on crying and when asked to explain why, she would get irritable, followed by a loud nothing!

Many are the times she would wake up late, refuse to attend classes and use this time to sleep.

At times she would encourage everyone around her using the words from the holy bible, while deep inside she had feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness, hopelessness and pessimism.

Later signs

I am younger than her myself and it did not occur to me that just about anyone could get depression.

When these later signs materialized, Ann was going through difficult moments because her male friend who had gone for further studies at a popular Christian U.S University just died of liver failure.

As if this loss was not enough, her business was tumbling down due to financial crisis and so she was simply disturbed.

The day all hell broke loose, I was with her. Something was just really different with her conversation.

she told me she could not find her dead male friend’s photograph a few days ago, but then it seemed that this critical day, she found it with some writings at the back, which Ann said were not there before.

Suddenly she started crying again, and not knowing how to ease her pain, I suggested that we burn it, a thing she decided to do herself.

I thought that this action would enable her begin the healing process from the loss she felt, but it only got worse, because she started claiming of spirits in the house, pointing at them, yet I could not see them.

Ann then collected all the paintings featuring African art hanging on the wall because she believed the spirits were there as well.

All this time, she was griping my body strongly like someone who was in terrible fear, and this time I decided we visit a close cousin of hers who believes in the power of prayer.

I do too, but I just had no strength to comfort her with my prayer alone. We spent the night there assuring her that she would go through it.

The following day, she was invited to an overnight prayer and worship where they say she got saved.

It only got worse

After this night, everything she thought about was the bible, she read it loudly to everyone who cared to listen as well as prayer and she would be crying.

Her parents decided to take her to the farms where she was supposed to cool down from the city craze.

These are the things she did:

Ann would disappear from home with a bible in her hands, and would preach to everyone she met on the way.

It was shameful because these people knew her parents well and so murmured annoying things such as “she is too young to loose her brains”

She neglected her body hygiene such as bathing and changing clothes, brushing and the like.

She would overwork her brains trying to connect the bible and the historical events and would challenge anybody to prove something that is false to be true or vice versa.

She would refuse to eat yet she had lost too much weight, lost her memory and had difficulties making decisions.

She would laugh, talk embarrassing things in front of anyone and would suddenly withdraw from everyone.

It was difficult to convince her that her life was important when she became suicidal

It was difficult for her parents

Though they found her the best psychiatrist they knew of, it was very difficult to get through her brain and convince her that she had depression.

Although, she finally agreed to attend the sessions for treatment, she would throw away the medications and therefore her mother had to be there to ensure she ate food, took a shower and her medicines.

Her parents were very supportive of her and they took the role of explaining things that she sought to know, understand or remember.

She would ask you the same thing over and over again, but we had to repeat the answer because we needed her to get better.

It took a period of over a year to get her back to her normal self a thing that we all enjoy.

It is only the doctor who treated her knows exactly what confidential information she shared with her regarding her past events.

Note: ahead of her when I was only nineteen years, I too suffered teenage depression but not to the levels hers (Ann’s) went and the same doctor treated me.

For me, it was a case of poor self image, because I was a chubby girl which I am not now. Some people close to me kept criticizing my looks and weight and I did not know how to deal with this.

I was also threatened of rape by some guys who did not know how to tell me they wanted me kindly. After a few sessions with this psychiatrist I found my courage to never listen to destructive critics and parted ways with her.

My caution

Do not get irritable, restless, and hopeless alone- there is help out there, someone care for people like you.

There is not much that could be done to stop death that is so certain, but at least there is cure for depression and anxiety and one does not have to wait until they loose their mind.