Nearly 25% of all American women will be affected by depression at some time in their lives, (Paykel, 1991; Steen, 1991). Depression can come as the result of many events in a woman's life. Some causes may be work difficulties, marital difficulties, pressures of a full time job and full time duties of a mother combined, single parenting, hormonal/chemical imbalances in a women's system, or the postpartum period after childbirth, just to name a few. Recovery from this kind of depression once diagnosed can be achieved with good results providing the depression is not found with other psychiatric illnesses. A regime of both medication and psychotherapy should be all that is necessary to aid in recovery. The woman must take an active role in her recovery as well.
For women diagnosed with PTSD, 43% also have a diagnosis of depression.
If a woman has had a history of psychiatric illnesses, such as depression, prior to a traumatic event(s) she is more likely to develop PTSD than the woman who has had no prior psychiatric illnesses. The cause of this depression could be from childhood abuse issues, rape, or other traumatic events. This explains why not all women develop PTSD that have been exposed to a single trauma of the same type.
Once the diagnosis of PTSD has been made, and the woman has been started on medication and psychotherapy, depression can also come into the picture. Many women I have spoken to feel a sense of helplessness and hopelessness after their diagnosis has been made and they are in therapy. It has occured to me that there are three scenarios to be considered.
The first, is the women who has been exposed to a single traumatic event which after a time finally begins to cause symptoms of PTSD, and she goes for help.
The second is the women who has had to endure abuse from childhood on, or has been a victim of a number of traumas in her life. She has managed somehow to live her life, the best way she knows how. Something has triggered her, perhaps an abusive relationship, and she finally looses her ability to cope with her life. At this point she goes for help.
The third being the women who has experienced the trauma(s) as in the first two scenarios, but who does not go for help once the symptoms begin to interfere with her daily life.
Sadly the third scenario is the worst of the three, and leads me to believe that although the statistics site 14% of the population suffer from PTSD, and 75% of them are women, these figures could be much higher, however there is no way to know for sure!
 |
