Since this topic will address depression in women and relevant issues, I think it is best to start at the beginning. We need to identify that with which we struggle and to have a definition of the entity we will be discussing.
WHAT IS IT?
Mrs. A had given birth to a healthy baby a few weeks before she began to feel lethargic and weepy. She also felt irritable, which her husband attributed to sleep deprivation. Her family and friends were confused about her behavior, and some even felt that she was "ungrateful" to feel this way at such a "special" time.
Ms. B could barely drag herself out of bed in the morning, and choosing what to wear for the day became a monumental task. She couldn't focus on her work, and she literally could not stay awake during the day. If left to her own devices, she would sleep the day away, even though she slept all night long. She also began to eat more than usual, craving mostly sweets and carbohydrates. Her moods alternated between profound sadness and unreasonable irritability, and she began to isolate herself from family and friends.
Ms. C had become irritable and agitated, unable to sleep. She felt tired and unable to pay attention in class or while studying. She couldn't make even simple decisions any more. She began to lose weight, and her unusually quick temper kept friends away.
Mrs. D hadn't felt "quite right" for many months. She could go to work and care for her family, but it took a large toll on her energy. She no longer played with her children or laughed at jokes. She had difficulty reading, which was quite unusual for her. Her husband complained that she had lost her sex drive, though she didn't notice that anything was different.
Mrs. E's adult children had all left home. She seemed to take this transition in stride with her usual grace. But she recently began to feel tired, and was able to attribute this to the fact that she wasn't sleeping through the night. She felt puzzled by her lack of interest in those things that she had always enjoyed, and her husband reported that she had "lost her sparkle."
Each woman suffers from depression, though it paints a different picture in each case. It is important to keep this difference in mind while discussing women's depression. It is also important to keep in mind that depression is not a single entity, but is actually a spectrum of disorders.
Mrs. A had given birth to a healthy baby a few weeks before she began to feel lethargic and weepy. She also felt irritable, which her husband attributed to sleep deprivation. Her family and friends were confused about her behavior, and some even felt that she was "ungrateful" to feel this way at such a "special" time.
Ms. B could barely drag herself out of bed in the morning, and choosing what to wear for the day became a monumental task. She couldn't focus on her work, and she literally could not stay awake during the day. If left to her own devices, she would sleep the day away, even though she slept all night long. She also began to eat more than usual, craving mostly sweets and carbohydrates. Her moods alternated between profound sadness and unreasonable irritability, and she began to isolate herself from family and friends.
Ms. C had become irritable and agitated, unable to sleep. She felt tired and unable to pay attention in class or while studying. She couldn't make even simple decisions any more. She began to lose weight, and her unusually quick temper kept friends away.
Mrs. D hadn't felt "quite right" for many months. She could go to work and care for her family, but it took a large toll on her energy. She no longer played with her children or laughed at jokes. She had difficulty reading, which was quite unusual for her. Her husband complained that she had lost her sex drive, though she didn't notice that anything was different.
Mrs. E's adult children had all left home. She seemed to take this transition in stride with her usual grace. But she recently began to feel tired, and was able to attribute this to the fact that she wasn't sleeping through the night. She felt puzzled by her lack of interest in those things that she had always enjoyed, and her husband reported that she had "lost her sparkle."
Each woman suffers from depression, though it paints a different picture in each case. It is important to keep this difference in mind while discussing women's depression. It is also important to keep in mind that depression is not a single entity, but is actually a spectrum of disorders.
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