Depression Affected By Gender

Men and women have different levels of risks of getting mental illnesses such as alcohol dependency. This is “more than twice as high in men than women. In developed countries, approximately 1 in 5 men and 1 in 12 women develop alcohol dependence during their lives” WHO 2015. This clearly shows that men and women have different risks when it comes to health and illness. Men are also twice as likely to have personality disorders, but women are more likely to have anxiety and depression than men are. Women have more accounts of sexual harassment and rape and this has a knock on effect to the amount of people with depression.

The female population makes up the other half of the entire human race, how depression affects them should not be glazed over. He touches on the topic very briefly, and makes valid points but not enough to capture all of the knowledge. “And urban North American women, the most affluent demographic of the study, were the most likely to experience depression” (Junger, 20). While he does touch on the topic, this is one of the few quotes that focuses on women and depression in North America, not even regarding that this applies to women in most societies as well. Kastrup wrote an article called Cultural Aspects of Depression: “It is well documented that women run a greater risk in most cultures: overall, women have a 1.5-2 times greater risk of suffering from depression compared with men. In the Cross-National Collaborative Group, women in all countries had a higher prevalence with a female:male ratio varying from 1.6 in Lebanon to 3.1 in West Germany.” Again, Junger did include a brief mention of women, but narrowed it down to North American women, when it clearly expands to other

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,

Discussion of gender differences here suggested that women are more often diagnosed with depression than men, and that men were more likely to engage

However, depression rates for women compared to men are twice as high. Various people and studies believe men will most likely have higher rates for depression just because they keep to themselves. A report stated that women are at greater risk for depression

There are many causes of depression. It can be from interpersonal problems (poor social skills, getting bullied), developmental issues (childhood abuse, family issues), personality causes (irrational concerns, depressive thinking), biological factors (changes in brain chemistry, genes), and religious reasons. For treatment preferences, women tend to accept treatment more and would prefer counseling as compared to men. Those who had a better knowledge of what counseling is like would prefer counseling over medication.

Women are diagnosed with depression twice as much as men. Often stereotyped as being more emotional than men, women are thus more vulnerable to depression. Emotions are taught and influenced and develop early on in life. The definition of depression varies with common factors in all being consist of time, severity of the emotion being felt/expressed along with consistency. A valid definition of depression would be: a feeling of hopelessness and/or sadness or little self worth. This is shown with a lack of interest in everyday activities and/or relationships and is consistent for several or more weeks. There have also been studies done of seasonal depression in certain areas.

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

There are two reasons that stand out to me as to why psychological disorders would have disparity between genders. Differences in hormones and brain chemistry, or socialization and gender roles that differ between the two sexes. If it is due to sex alone, then it can be explained as the two brains of male and female individuals being different. Females and males have different balances of hormones, which can easily explain how their brains function differently. This is especially obvious for females, who experienced increased risks of depression after giving birth, and pregnancies involve changes in hormones throughout the months and heavy hormonal changes during the act of birth. The book states that puberty becomes the point where depression

Another implication of this is that researchers may be less inclined to study depression in women based on the the strength of these gender stereotypes and how often they are repeated because they may simply begin to believe that this is merely a biological trait of all women, leaving no chance for this stereotype to be ceased. This may also deny women of other treatment options, such as effective medication, that may only be beneficial to women, as men are mostly exclusively studied. Studies also show that women are more affected by negative feedback, so therefore, may be more devastated when diagnosed, as they may review this as a reflection of their own self-worth and abilities. This may thus, strengthen and only further their depressive symptoms, and they may in fact be less inclined to seek treatment or be hopeful and optimistic that any treatment will be

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.

The connection between gender and psychological disorders seems to be hard to ignore and yet today we still lack the distinct research and treatment necessary to resolve the epidemic of psychological disorders in women. Women are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety disorders than men, a study showed 10% of mothers obtain a mental health problem during motherhood while only 6% of fathers experience these issues (“Mental Health Statistics: Men and Women.") and women predominate over men in rates of major depression (Astbury, Cabral). The gap in between men and women experiencing these mental health problems seems to be clear but we have to ask ourselves, why? We often associate mental health issues with individual

Gender differences do have an effect on depression. Girls are more affected with depression than boys because girls develop maturity earlier than boys. When young adolescence girls reach puberty they grow to become more self -conscious of their self- imagine than boys. Boys are more acceptable to their body change such as gaining weight or regaining muscles. In adolescence girls they seem to always compare themselves to others and their never satisfied with their appearance. This can lead to severe eating disorders

As health is seen as a holistic concept we also have to focus on the psychological side of health. Mental illnesses affect around one in every three people and an individual?s gender is a critical determinant of mental health and mental illness. Women are much more likely to develop mental health problems then males do. The most predominant of these disorders are depression, anxiety and somatic complaints.

Women in the United States are more susceptible to depression than men because of physical, sociological, and psychological factors. Despite recent increase in women diagnosed with depression through recent years, it is continuously perceived as a matter of little importance and dismissed as a petty problem that should not be taken seriously. Arguments against the importance of solving this increasing issue suggest that the problem is contributed by sexist and discriminating ideals towards women and mental illness.