Women and Depression Essay

According to research published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, major depression rates for American adults increased from 3.33 percent to 7.06 from 1991 to 2002. “Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act”(Parekh). Although some may believe that depression is stagnant, more Americans are in fact dealing with depression than in years prior. I heard this and was unsettled. In a time of openness and greater opportunity than ever before, why is depression increasing in Americans? My research has lead to the conclusion that social media, the modernization of western culture, and the average American diet has been leading factors in

Has depression ruined your life and taken away the enthusiasm and zest you once oozed? Have you forgotten what it is like to feel true happiness?

Depression is a feeling of severe despondency and dejection according to the google dictionary. It first appeared in Mesopotamia, where they believed that depression was a demonic possession and often used priest to attend to patients with depression. The original word for depression was melancholia and it was seen as a mental or spiritual illness rather than a physical one. With the help of great psychologists and psychiatrists such as Emil Kraepelin, Kurt Schneider, and Sigmund Freud, the science and research of depression was able to advance over time. In terms of African American women, they have higher rates of depression and anxiety compared to White American women. This could be due to many problems such as poverty, resources, emotional resilience, and social support.

The article that I read was called “Depression, and Women.” This article by Doctor Terri Apter describes the connection between women and depression. Doctor Apter goes over certain things pertaining to the topic that she discovered when she was researching it. Apter even spoke about the writer Allison Pearson and her novel about a character with depression. Later on in the article, Apter compared one of the lines in the book to the symptoms of depression. Those symptoms were lack of energy and a feeling of emptiness. She also used statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health, or the NIMH, to back up her statement, which was that women are more likely to experience depression within their lives. Considering the article is about depression,

Depression is a mental disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. When people are depressed they feel down and lose interest in daily activities. It can cause many physical and mental health disorders such as cardiovascular problems and social disorders, for a couple examples. There are many different kinds of medications and therapies used to treat people with depression.In the book We Are Called To Rise by Laura McBride, three individuals lives were brought together by trauma and by coincidence. A main issue in this book is depression and this book McBride shows how a hospitalized veteran is affected and overcomes this issue as the book goes on.

Depression can cause forgetfulness, confusion and difficulty concentrating. Symptoms such as loss of interest in life, lack of enjoyment doing activities, feeling tired all the time, poor sleep, weight loss or gain, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, chronic unexplained pain and memory loss can be correctly attributed to poor health, dementia and old age. In serious depression, thoughts of suicide or death are common. Untreated depression can develop into a problem. There is evidence that depression takes a serious toll on a person’s physical health. Physical pain is one symptom of depression that is generally overlooked. A study that was published in the Psychosomatic Medical Journal found that two thirds of people with depression also were in some sort of physical pain.

Women experience depression at twice the rate of men. Gender differences emerge first at puberty and occur mainly in the common mental disorders such as depression, anxiety among others. These disorders, in which women predominate, affect approximately 1 in 3 people. The frequency of major depression in adults is estimated to be 7 to 12 percent in men and 20 to 25 percent in women in a community and this constitutes a serious public health problem (NIMH, 2006). Several and variable factors in women contribute to depression, such as genetic, hormonal, developmental, reproductive, and other biological differences like premenstrual syndrome, childbirth, infertility and menopause. Factors associated to social issues may lead to depression

"Men pray to the gods for health and they ignore that it is in their power to have it."

Men and women are biologically similar in regards to the hormones and chemicals involved with depression. However socially, each gender encounters different social afflictions that can often lead them into depressive states. In this essay, we will explore the common struggles that each gender experiences and how these realities effect their contrasting developments of depression.

A depression disorder is characterized by an episode of intense sadness, depressed moods or marked loss of interest or pleasure in nearly activities. Studies have revealed that depression in women is two to three times more prevalent in women than in men. With this being conveyed women deal with infidelity stresses and stresses and conflicts generally in a manner where depression is dominant. Depression disorder is rampant therefore in women where

feelings can linger for years. Depression is a social disorder characterized by a depressed mood

It feels as though most of the time when thinking about psychology and the great contributions that have been made to it, that most of them have been from men, but along the way there have been several influential women that have contributed to the field of psychology as well. Just like men, there were several women who were pioneers, theorists, and counselors; many of these women have contributed to the field of psychology in their own special between the years of 1850 and 1950. Of all these amazing women who are pioneers, theorists, and counselors, the one who stands out the most is Anna Freud. This paper will go on to explain Anna Freud’s

Depression has numerous causes and effects which affect not only the person but the people around them. Depression doesn’t have a specific cause; in most cases it’s different for everyone. It is a common, treatable mental illness that can be experienced at any time in life. It is often described with feeling sad, unhappy, miserable, or “down in the dumps”. Most people have these feelings on occasion. There are several types of depression. These different types of depression describe slight, but often important, diagnostic differences. True clinical depression interferes with mood disorder in everyday life for weeks, months, or even years. Most people think depression affects only one

Most depressed individuals feel there is no way to end the misery and torture of

The term depression is widely misused in today’s society. All human beings experience periods in life where they are sad for a relatively short period of time, which is considered normal. Those who experience sadness for extended periods may be suffering from depression. Two terms used to reference the classifications of depression, are Major Depressive Disorder, and Dysthymia. Individual diagnosis of these classifications is dependent on the length of time, and severity of symptoms experienced by the individual. The causes for these depressive states can be due to genetics or the insufficient production of neurotransmitters, which provide the brain with the data necessary to regulate one's psychological well being. Two examples