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 About
Your Mood Mood
Research
 The
Blues & Mood Disorders In Women:
Not A Female Weakness
Contrary to popular belief, suffering
from "the blues" or a mood disorder is not normal
part of being a woman nor is it a female weakness. Depressive
illnesses are serious medical illnesses that affect more
than 19 million American adults age 18 and above each year;
and are a treatable medical illness that can occur in any
woman, at any time, and for various reasons regardless of
age, race or income.
Prevalence
- Approximately 12 million women
in the United States experience clinical depression each
year.
- About one in every eight women
can expect to develop clinical depression during their
lifetime.
- Depression occurs most frequently
in women aged 25 to 44.
Contributing Factors
- Many factors in women may contribute
to depression, such as developmental, reproductive, hormonal,
genetic and other biological differences (e.g. premenstrual
syndrome, childbirth, infertility and menopause).
- Social factors may also lead
to higher rates of clinical depression among women, including
stress from work, family responsibilities, the roles and
expectations of women and increased rates of sexual abuse
and poverty.
 Gender Differences
- Women experience depression at
roughly twice the rate of men.
- Girls 14-18 years of age have
consistently higher rates of depression than boys in this
age group.
PMS/PMDD
- Twenty to forty percent of women
may experience premenstrual syndrome and an estimated
3 to 5 percent have symptoms severe enough to be classified
as Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD).
Marriage/Childbirth
- Married people have a lower rate
of depression than those living alone. However, unhappily
married people have the highest rates of depression; happily
married men have the lowest rates.
- Approximately 10%-15% of all
new mothers get postpartum depression, which most frequently
occurs within the first year after the birth of a child.
Women's Attitudes Toward Depression
According to a National Mental Health
Association survey on public attitudes and beliefs about
clinical depression:
- More than one-half of women believe
it is "normal" for a woman to be depressed during
menopause and that treatment is not necessary.
- More than one-half of women believe
depression is a "normal part of aging."
- More than one-half believe it
is normal for a mother to feel depressed for at least
two weeks after giving birth.
- More than one-half of women cited
denial as a barrier to treatment while 41 percent of women
surveyed cited embarrassment or shame as barriers to treatment.
- In general, over one-half of
the women said they think they "know" more about
depression than men do.
Source: National Mental Health Association
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