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Women are much more likely to suffer from depression than men. Some of the reasons for this are because women go through hormonal changes throughout the month that can trigger depression. There are also other factors. Women can suffer from depression in every stage of life, starting with adolescence. As a girl's body grows into adulthood, hormonal changes take place so quickly they can cause a bout of depression. There are also other factors such as peer pressure and low self-esteem brought on by the pressures of trying to fit into the mold that the media and fashion industry have created over the years.
During the child bearing years women tend to have more frequent bouts with depression as a result of pre-menstrual syndrome, pregnancy, post partum, and then later on menopause. Other issues in a woman's life that can cause depression are being victims of sexual abuse as a child or being sexually assaulted as an adult. Women are more likely to be sexually abused than men are. Another problem is that poverty for women is higher than in men. These women of poverty are more likely to suffer from depression because they feel they are failures. More women are on public assistance than men are. Most have children and must continually worry about how to provide for their children. This is a factor even though depression affects both high middle and low-income people equally.
As more women entered the work field, the incidence of depression in women increased. Women of today are put into the position of higher stress to be successful and also to be the perfect wife, mother and homemaker all in one. This can lead to feelings of failure. A woman may begin to feel overwhelmed by all the responsibilities placed on her and thus cause a bout with depression. Women get diagnosed more often with depression because a woman will usually seek help when feeling sad for long periods of time, whereas a man may not want to admit that he is depressed. Women are usually more in touch with their feelings than men are, so that may be one of the reasons that the diagnosis rate is so much higher in women than in men.
Some of the symptoms of depression are persistent sadness that lasts more than 2 weeks, loss of interest in activities that were once considered enjoyable. Changes in sleep patterns, loss of or increase in appetite weight changes, fatigue and over-tiredness even after sleeping, headaches, stomach upset constipation and other digestive disturbances. If you have any of these symptoms, seek help with a professional. There are medications and treatments available to help.
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