Depression in Women: a group project

Fact Sheet May 7^th, 2013     Depression In Women

GENERAL INFO

• Depression is the leading cause of disease-related disability in women
• Women are twice more likely than men to develop a major depressive disorder (MDD)
• Women have longer episodes of depression than men who also have MDD
• Approximately 25-35% of women suffer from depression
• Depression in women has been found to peak during childbearing years
• Women inadvertently worsen their own depression because they dwell on their negative feelings whereas men tend to distract themselvses 
• The most common disorders comorbid with depression being anxiety, alcohol, substance abuse, and eating disorders

CAUSES OF DEPRESSION IN WOMEN

• Depression can be triggered in women due to changes in the endocrine control of their reproductive system
• Pregnancy and child birth and different phases of the menstrual cycle can cause depression

• There are certain childhood risk factors for depression: disturbed family environment, sexual abuse, or losing a parent
• Non-environment-related risk factors are: genetics, neuroticism, and low self-esteem
• Heightened social pressures put women at a higher risk for depression than men
• Past traumatic life events
• Body image issues 
• Stress from work, school, or home, money problems, death of a loved one, problems with family members
• Poverty 
• Depression may be caused by a lack of new cell growth in the brain in adult brains
• A disruption in new cell growth in adult brains could be linked with depression
• Gender inequality can lead to low self-esteem in women which can cause depression
• Medicines taken for other illnesses can also trigger depression. Medications used for acne, high blood pressure, birth control, Parkinson’s disease, inflammation, gastrointestinal relief, and more

SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION IN WOMEN

• Depressed mood, loss of interest in activities, feelings of guilt or hopelessness or worthlessness, thoughts of suicide and/or death, insomnia, inability to sleep and restlessness, weight gain and weight loss, lack of energy, difficulty concentrating, and more

PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF PEOPLE WITH DEPRESSION

• The public in general doesn’t understand depression
• Public surveys have shown that the public believes depression is similar to “weakness of character” rather than a disease

THE EFFECT OF DEPRESSION ON A WOMAN’S LIFE

• Depression will negatively impact social interactions, business, and a woman’s sense of self-worth
• Depression in women is known to lead to other disorders such as anorexia or bulimia or other eating disorders
• Women with depression are more at risk for alcoholism or substance abuse of other sorts such as gambling, drugs, sex, or internet shopping

TREATMENT

• Eating healthy, exercising and socializing are known to reduce the risk of depression in women
• Women with depression can go through psychotherapy treatment 
• Other forms of treatment involve daily medicine

Campaign 1

Psychological Factor: Body Image

The Problem:  Women who struggle with their body image may face a higher risk of depression that others. This risk can develop at a young age, usually around puberty. In our society, women who are thin are considered to be beautiful and desirable. Young girls who are beginning to develop their own identities are faced with images of the “ideal” woman in today’s society. This “ideal image” can become a type of obsession for some young girls and women. Feeling inferior to other women is one of the leading causes of depression. Women who feel that they do not fit this image become dissatisfied with their own bodies, leading them to restrict their diets and develop depression.

On the other hand, women struggling with depression that has developed for reasons other than negative body image may ultimately struggle with poor body image as a result of their depression. “Berscheid, Walster, and Bohrnstedt (1973) surveyed 2,000 Psychology Today readers and found body satisfaction was related to personal happiness. Teenagers who reported being unattractive were by far the most unhappy group of respondents; adults presently in there 30s who reported that they were attractive teenagers were the happiest.”

Solution:

Solving this issue has proven to be a challenge. As individuals, we are unable to change society’s view of women and what is socially desirable. Women must learn to accept themselves for who they are and not compare themselves to women they may consider beautiful in their own minds. In order for this to occur, women should focus on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, socializing with friends, and pursuing hobbies all help to create healthy living. Sometimes these things aren’t enough though. Women may also seek guidance through cognitive therapy. Cognitive therapy in addition to anti-depressants is another helpful option for some women.

Campaign 2: Poverty

Poverty is such a reason, which could be responsible developing depression in anybody, and it is increasing the rate of depression. If you don’t have enough wealth then you cannot get power or respect, which is the root of causing poverty. Statistically speaking, poverty is more frequent in women than man. According to the survey among all demographic groups single mother have the highest records. Additionally, the poverty rate is an enough big issue to create a major depressive order.

Audio:

Transcript: 

When you see society where poor live oppressed and underprivileged while rich get richer, we simply know this is wrong. It is moral, and it must have negative effects on everyone, rich and poor. But what are these effects? As the gap between richest and poorest 20% grow, the depression rates of women increase dramatically. This gap has been linked to other issues including life expectancy, infant mortality, homicides, teenage births, obesity and social mobility. When comparing other developed countries around the world, the U.S has the largest separation between the unprivileged and privileged. Consequently, there are some of the worst problems in the world: depression, homicide, obesity, teenage births, trust issues, and social mobility. We can revive the American dream, and create a better society for all by improving tier taxation. So that the ones who can afford to do so can help those at a disadvantage, and empower us all to live better lives.

Solution: 

In order to reduce the negative effects that poverty brings by, we have to create a better society for all by improving tier taxation. As a result, the federal government could spend more on education. In general, lower poverty rates were associated with higher levels of education. The ongoing budget crisis of education has resulted in underfunded and ill-equipped schools – a problem more prevalent in schools of lower-income communities. Money and wealth should be more evenly distributed among a larger percentage of the people in the U.S. This may be a long uphill battle, but take small steps to eliminate women depression by creating a fair environment for everyone. 

Campaign 3: Environment

Childhood sexual abuse:

“Women with severe abuse have a 10-fold risk for lifetime major depression” (Walker & et all, 1992).

“Women with a history of childhood abuse exhibited increased pituitary-adrenal and autonomic responses to stress compared with controls. This effect was particularly robust in women with current symptoms of depression and anxiety. Women with a history of childhood abuse and a current major depression diagnosis exhibited a more than 6-fold greater ACTH response to stress than age-matched controls” (Heim, Newport, Heit, Graham, Wilcox, Bonsall & Nemeroff , 2000).

-Unfortunately the only way to prevent depression in women caused from childhood sexual abuse is to prevent childhood sexual abuse all together. Since the complete prevention of childhood sexual abuse is near impossible an alternative solution in dealing with the negative effects of childhood sexual abuse is counseling. 

Losing a parent in childhood:

Once again, there isn’t prevention per say to losing a parent in childhood. 

-Counseling would benefit a child who lost a parent. With appropriate early intervention one would hope that the risk of adult depression would be greatly reduced. Also a securely attached relationship to another adult in the child’s life would also be important in the prevention of adult depression developing from the loss of a parent in childhood.  

Credit Sheet:

Group 2:  The Depression In Women

Members: 

Michael Baliton: Group Leader, Assigned roles and campaign materials, research, revised rough drafts, Pamphlet, Credit Sheet

Faith Carlsmith:  Fact Sheet, research, Campaign 2 Poverty

Jinglun Sun:  Revised Material, Campaign 2 Poverty, audio

Andrea Ghegan:  Research, revised campaign, Campaign 1 Body Image

Brandon Braun:  Research, Campaign 1 Body Image

Sarah Stanford:  Research, Campaign 3 Environment

Alexandria Smith:  Research, Campaign 3 Environment

References:

Beattie, Gregory S. "Social Causes of Depression." Rochester Institute of Technology. n. page. Web. 30 Apr. 2013. <http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/beattie.html>.

Christensen, H., Jacomb, P. A., Jorm, A. F., Korten, A. E., Pollitt, P., & Rodgers, B. (1997).

Coleman, D. (1990). Women’s depression rate is higher. The New York Times.

"Depression." Environmental Factors. New York\: <http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/symptoms/depression/causes.html>.

Kessler, R. C. (2003). Epidemiology of women and depression. Journal of Affective Disorders,

Noble, R. E. (2005). Depression in women. Metabolism, 54 (5). 74 (1). 

Olfson, M. & Weissman, M. M. (1995). Depression in women: implications for health care research. Science, 269 (5225). 

Public beliefs about causes and risk factors for depression and schizophrenia. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 32 (3).

"Social & Cultural causes of Women Depression." (2011): n. page. Web. 30 Apr. 2013. <http://www.helpfordepressiontreatment.com/social-cultural-causes-women-depression>.