A common syndrome affecting an estimated 3% to 8% of women in their reproductive years is called Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) (4). PMDD is specifically known as a mood disorder of severe depression, irritability, and tension with symptoms worsening a week or so before a woman's menstrual period and usually settling out afterwards (5). PMDD can be devastating to all areas of a woman's everyday life, including family relationships, friendships, and the ability to work or go to school (3). Many people still believe that the emotional symptoms caused by PMDD are not real, and that a woman should be able to shake off the symptoms if only she tried hard enough. Because of these inaccurate beliefs, women with this depression either may not recognize that they have a treatable disorder or may be discouraged from seeking or staying on treatment.
Women are 70 percent more likely than men to experience depression during the course of their lifetimes. They believe this has to do with hormones and the fact the women are more likely to seek help and men are more likely to turn to drugs and alcohol. Thirty percent of all clinically depressed patients attempt suicide. There are over 38,000 suic... ... middle of paper ... ...ds, or school and think of how many are people suffering. Mental illnesses aren’t always easy to detect in yourself, or in others and these illnesses affect millions of lives every single day.
Depression is most common in women. The rates are twice as high as they are in men. According to the National Mental Health Association, about one in every eight women will develop depression at some point during her lifetime. Women’s symptoms are similar to major depression. Some of them include being in a depressed mood, loss of interest in activities you used to like, feelings of guilt and hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts or recurrent thought of death.
“Violence against women is linked with feelings of depression, anxiety, fear, guilt, shame and stress for the victim, an increased risk of completing suicide and physical health problems” (Bostock, Plumpton, Pratt 96). Physically putting your hands on a women can cause women to have a lot of problems with themselves and others. Causing them to think horrible thoughts of themselves or of others because of what they have went through. They deal with problems that most people don’t deal with, they have to suffer with living in fear for the rest of their lives.
Tina’s story is a case of a woman who is showing signs of depression. To determine if Tina is having a major depressive episode (MDE) or if she suffers from Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) one needs to look more carefully at all of her symptoms. According to the DSM IV to receive a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder one most have five or more of the following symptoms present during the same two week period for more than two months: depressed mood nearly every day and most of the day (in children and adolescents this can be seen as an irritable mood), loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed, significant weight changes, insomnia or hypersomnia almost every day, psychomotor agitation, fatigue or loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness an... ... middle of paper ... ... a pilot study. Health. 2(6).
Many conditions that are similar to depression or where depression is one of the main symptoms have been linked to hormonal changes and fluctuations. For example, when looking at Postpartum Depression (PPD) we know that both pregnancy and birth cause massive hormonal changes. 20% of women are reported feeling moderately depressed during this time; few of these then became chronically depressed. In support of this, it has been discovered that the stress hormone ‘Cortisol’ is very low after giving birth, which could make coping more difficult, leading to depression. It cannot be denied however that many of the women who suffer seriously from PPD have already had episodes of clinical depression in their life, which could mean that they are more prone to suffering depression at this point.
The most common symptoms are: persistent sad or empty feelings, feelings of hopelessness, insomnia, overeating, and others. There are several forms of depressive disorders, which are considered to be serious illnesses, so it is very important to know their causes, signs, and symptoms to be able to make a diagnosis and treat them properly (“Depression”). “Major depressive disorder is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. Each year about 6.7% of U.S adults experience major depressive disorder. Women are 70 % more likely than men to experience depression during their lifetime” (“Depression”).
It's usually something that must be treated with therapy, and in some cases medication must also be used. There are many different types of the mental illness; clinical depression, bipolar disorder (otherwise known as manic depressive) and dysthymia. In the period of one year, about 9.5% of Americans, which is about 18.8 million adults will suffer from one of these types of a "depressive disorder." (source 2) Depression affects over 17 million Americans each year. It's most common in women, and is more likely to affect the elderly than the young.
A miscarriage is when the woman begins to bleed or spot, making her realize she might have miscarried. This highly affects women between the ages of nineteen to forty. The miscarriage rate rises almost 18% after the age of thirty- five. The rates of stillbirths are almost twice as high for older pregnant women than for younger ones. Almost one-third of all pregnancies in women between the ages of forty to forty- four ends in a miscarriage.
Among these are depression, long-term grief reactions, anger, sexual dysfunction, guilt, flashbacks, memory repression, suicidal ideas, and difficulty keeping close relationships. In a new study by post-abortion researcher David Reardon, who operates the Elliot Institute for Social Sciences Research in Springfield, Illinois, it was found that twenty-eight percent of women who had abortions later attempted suicide, and over half of these women did so more than once. Drug and alcohol abuse increased four times among women who aborted compared to those who carried to term. Ninety-eight percent of women regretted having had an abortion. Seventy-two percent of women said their abortion did not improve their life.