Why More Women Deal With Depression

We are all aware of the fact that women are predisposed to suffer from depression more than men. There are many reasons for this. The hormonal changes that a woman lives through on a monthly basis play a big part in some of these mood changes but not all. A female person goes through puberty, menstrual cycles, pregnancy, and menopause. All of these create huge hormonal changes that play havoc with a woman’s emotions. Mood swings are not an uncommon symptom of any of them and so on a monthly basis a woman may go through a series of emotional ups and downs.

But it is not just the biological changes that a woman must deal with that affects their propensity to depression. There are the cultural and social pressures that make up such a large part of a woman’s existence that also greatly influence this. A woman is more likely to have more responsibilities than her male counterpart. In a married situation she is expected to have a job outside the home, care of the children and the household and still be ready, willing and able to care for her husband’s needs in the bedroom while all the time keeping herself fresh and beautiful. She is expected to maintain an attractive demeanor and all the time not worry about what she needs for herself. The pressures of maintaining this facade can be enormous often becoming too much to deal with.

This does not count the ever growing number of women who are single mothers. So they still have a job and household to run, but now there is no one to share any of the responsibilities with and they must work harder to support their children. All too often they are coming out of a relationship where there has been some type of abuse. All these circumstances together easily explain why more than just biological causes can be at the root of the depression suffered by women.

When you look at the things that women must deal with equal pay for equal work is a consideration that is not a reality. Women work very hard for the money they take home almost always earning less than men in the same position. Overall women earn less. This can be even worse for a woman who is part of a visible minority. These things can contribute to a poor self image.

Add to this lower income the pressures of caring for children and perhaps an elderly unwell parent and still the women carries on. She must work to support them all and still be able to come home to cook, clean and help her children with their homework. Clearly all the stresses in a woman’s life make it even more likely that she will deal with depression at some time during her life. Add to that the possibility that she will have the chemical imbalance that so many depressives deal with and it becomes more obvious why women are more likely to be depressives.