Why Women Are More Prone To Depression
January 7, 2009
The number of people getting significantly affected by depression has been on the rise over the last couple of years, and what’s even more alarming is that the number of women getting affected has risen drastically. The higher rate of depression in women has been attributed to the biological and social differences between men and women.
In lingual usage, most people would use the word depression for the occasional blues that nearly all of us experience, every now and then. However, there is much more to the problem of depression. There is usually some imbalance in the brain chemicals which affects the working of neurons in the brain.
The usual, anxiety and stress related, causes and symptoms of depression are common in both men and women. However, women are more prone to suffering from depression because of problems like premenstrual syndrome, fertility and pregnancy related issues and menopause.
During most of the female problems the body experiences a hormonal imbalance, and this hormonal imbalance has been attributed as one of the significant reasons for depression in women. Even the use of certain oral contraceptives, which are high in progesterone, and infertility treatments, using strong stimulants and steroids can also disrupt the natural hormonal balance.
Apart from these internal factors, socio-psychological factors such as history of sexual abuse in childhood, sexual violence and rape, partner’s infidelity and domestic violence are some of the other factors which increase the odds of depression in women.
Personality disorders because of one’s looks are also more prevalent in women, and while they may begin with some kind of obsession about one’s body parts or features, the obsession soon transforms into depression, and if left untreated it can give birth to near fatal diseases like bulimia and anorexia.
Break-offs and love betrayal have also been cited as the primary reasons for younger women getting into depression. While, most men would resort to alcoholism and violence in such relationship problems, women are often silent sufferers because of the basic nature of women being emotional. And since they are not able to vent out the frustration and anger inside them they slowly drift into depression.
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