Worldwide: Research is currently being conducted into the causes and treatment of depressive disorders in women. Amongst the areas under investigation is life stress and depression. We are assured that recent data suggests that stressful life experiences may play a larger role in provoking recurrent episodes of depression in women than in men.

According to NIMH: The influence of hormones on depression in women has been an active area of NIMH research. One recent study was the first to demonstrate that the troublesome depressive mood swings and physical symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), a disorder affecting 3 to 7 percent of menstruating women, result from an abnormal response to normal hormone changes during the menstrual cycle. Among women with normal menstrual cycles, those with a history of PMS experienced relief from mood and physical symptoms when their sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone, were temporarily "turned off" by administering a drug that suppresses the function of the ovaries. PMS symptoms developed within a week or two after the hormones were re-introduced. In contrast, women without a history of PMS reported no effects of the hormonal manipulation. The study showed that female sex hormones do not cause PMS—rather, they trigger PMS symptoms in women with a pre-existing vulnerability to the disorder.

The researchers currently are attempting to determine what makes some women but not others susceptible to PMS. Possibilities include genetic differences in hormone sensitivity at the cellular level, differences in history of other mood disorders, and individual differences in serotonin function.

NIMH researchers also are currently investigating the mechanisms that contribute to depression after childbirth (postpartum depression), another serious disorder where abrupt hormonal shifts in the context of intense psychosocial stress disable some women with an apparent underlying vulnerability. In addition, an ongoing NIMH clinical trial is evaluating the use of antidepressant medication following delivery to prevent postpartum depression in women with a history of this disorder after a previous childbirth.

Research into the mechanisms that contribute to depression after childbirth (postpartum depression), another serious disorder where abrupt hormonal shifts in the context of intense psychosocial stress disable some women with an apparent underlying vulnerability. In addition, an ongoing NIMH clinical trial is evaluating the use of antidepressant medication following delivery to prevent postpartum depression in women with a history of this disorder after a previous childbirth

 

With so much ignorance, prejudice and stigma around, sometimes it is better to begin not by explaining what something is - but what it is not. Clinical Depression (for example) is not a normal part of being a woman. Clinical Depression is not some type of mysterious female weakness. Or curse.

 

The simple fact of the matter is that Depressive illnesses are serious medical illnesses, affecting many millions of women worldwide. Having said that it should be stressed that Depression is a treatable medical condition that can occur in any woman, at any time, and for various reasons regardless of age, race or background.