Treatment of depression in women

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Treatment of depression in women

Depression is a common psychiatric condition that affects both men and women and even children. It is classified as the second most prevalent mental illness after anxiety, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illness in its fifth edition, It is considered one of the most disabling diseases after obsessive-compulsive disorder, and placed by mental health doctors in a large family of diseases called mood disorders.

It affects women more because of the constant change in the levels of hormones in the female body, contrary to the rumor that the cause is the female emotional nature.

Causes of depression in women

There are several causes of depression in women. Each group has specific effects and risk factors that affect the degree of post-depressive symptoms. The causes of depression are divided into three main sections

Biological and hormonal causes

There are many successive biological changes: at the beginning of the first menstrual cycle, the woman’s body goes through hormonal changes accompanied by a change in the chemistry of the body and brain, and this change increases in the period of pregnancy and childbirth, In menopause, estrogen production in the blood decreases, causing the risk of depression.

Social causes

These reasons are summarized by the attitudes and difficulties of life and what can be experienced by the female in her career. The study of these causes depends on the nature of the environment in which women live, Many difficulties, such as failed relationships and divorce, can put pressure on women in closed societies, While members of open societies deal with it quite comfortably, Thus the chances of depression increase.

difficulties related to job loss, academic failure, childbearing, educational dealing with children and her adaptation to her different responsibilities, which increase with the size of her family and the nature of the career she chooses, all of which can affect the woman’s psyche and may cause severe or mild mood disorders depending on the mentality of dealing with these difficulties.

Psychological or chemical causes

These reasons are summarized by the genetic composition of a woman’s emotions and her gentle, emotional handling – in a small percentage of women – the facts, the view of life in terms of emotion and the impact on the levels of neurotransmitters in her brain increase or decrease and increase the risk of depression or any other mood disorders.

Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression can be defined as a type of depression experienced by some women after giving birth from several weeks to several months. It is estimated that about 20% of women suffer from this problem.

There are many factors that may help the mother to develop this type of depression, such as hormonal changes, neurochemistry,the health and psychological history of the mother.

Postponed depression does not indicate lack of love to the new child born by the mother as some believe It is a mental disorder that can be effectively treated by providing psychological support and some medical treatments, as feeling sadness or depression postpartum is normal if it doesn’t last for a long time, If the condition exceeds two weeks .

a woman may be eligible for a diagnosis her injury of this type of depression, It is worth mentioning that the results of one study showed that about 10% of new parents suffer from postpartum depression disorder as well.

It is a symptom of postpartum depression

Feeling sad, hopeless, and oppressive.
There are some changes in eating habits such as frequent or lack of eating.
Excessive anxiety.
Cry for unclear reasons; or more than usual.
Feeling very angry.
Suffering from difficulty in concentration, and poor ability to remember certain details and make decisions.
Have some physical problems, such as muscle pain, stomach problems, and frequent headaches.
Avoid friends and family.
A mother’s thinking of hurting herself or her child.
The mother’s continued skepticism about her ability to care for the newborn.
Suffering from the inability to form an emotional bond with the newborn.

Depression in the wife

There is no harm to you if you feel some sadness from time to time as a natural response to the harsh surroundings we experience every day. Naturally, this sadness evaporates quickly over time; and does not negatively affect those who feel it later.

But the feeling of depression is different. Depression is known to be a severe mood disorder in a person’s mood. It also affects his ability to think and practice normal daily activity from sleep and work and so on.

The incidence of depression in women is higher than in men, due to the biological, hormonal and social factors specific to women rather than men.

Symptoms of depression in women

Symptoms of depression in women include:

Continuous feeling of sadness, anxiety and emotional emptiness.
Unwillingness to engage in normal daily activity, or any previously happy activity, including sex.
The inability to sleep normally, the constant feeling of disruption and discomfort, coupled with constant crying.
The constant feeling of guilt, pessimism, and loss of hope in everything.
Loss of appetite or overeating.
the permanent feeling of lethargy and fatigue.
Continuous thinking of death; repeated suicide attempts.
The appearance of some physical symptoms, such as headaches and chronic pain.
Changes in body weight, either the woman – or the patient in general – becomes overweight and noticeable as a result of intense binge eating, Or either it is the opposite; so that you get too thin as a result of not eating, and have disorders of appetite.

Treatment of depression in women

There are various ways to treat depression include the following:

Behavioral and cognitive therapy

This treatment is entirely based on conversations between a psychiatrist or behavioral therapist with a depressed patient, It works to restructure its ideas and rid them of misconceptions about the environment, the self, society and the situations that suffer from them, and this treatment proved good effectiveness with cases of mild to moderate depression.

Pharmacotherapy

This treatment is based on medication and drugs in its various forms, such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors, noradrenaline, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and other drugs, It works to increase serotonin and noradrenaline levels in areas of synapses and thus improve the overall condition of a patient suffering from depression