Depression occurs twice as often in women as men. Reasons for this may include hormonal fluctuations (normal cyclical hormonal issues during childbearing years, pregnancy, or hormonal treatments such oral contraceptives), sleep deprivation from childcare duties with infants/toddlers, and stress from attempting to balance household/childcare/workplace duties. Women who are depressed tend to experience more feelings of guilt than depressed men.
Real depression differs from feeling sad in that with a clinical depression the sad, blue, depressed mood or lack of interest in usual hobbies or interests must last for at least 2 weeks and must be accompanied by at least 3 to 4 of the following: significant weight loss or gain, sleep disturbance (increased or decreased), agitation or decreased motor activity, fatigue or loss of energy, excessive feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, concentration difficulty, and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. [Read more…] about Women and Depression
