Signs of Depression

Signs of Depression

When searching for specific signs of depression, it is important to understand that it cannot be defined as "one-size-fits-all." It has long been known that women are much more prone to be depressed than men, and that the specific causes of female depression and the diagnosis of its symptoms are often very different from males. True depression is often a sign of an unbalanced emotional well-being that can have a dramatic negative effect on her overall emotional health. However, it can be reversed through a good diagnosis and the practice of emotional resilience.

Specific Causes of Depression

Men and women experience depression differently, and the symptoms can be just as widely separated. The tendency of women to experience some of the specific symptoms is often a lot more than those experienced by men. Numerous factors that contribute to the unique diagnosis of specific depression in women include an imbalance of reproductive hormones and pressures of emotions and social interaction that cause stress. By understanding some of these factors, every woman experiencing depression can minimize the symptoms and improve their mental health.

Reading the Signs

Reading the signs that a woman is depressed include feeling fear, sadness and worthless, feeling anxious and scared, blaming themselves, feeling tired and nervous, having trouble with setting boundaries and avoiding conflicts at all cost. Additional signs include talking about their self-doubt and despair, along with using friends, "love" and food to self-medicate themselves in their despondency.

Specific causes for depression include premenstrual problems, or the hormonal fluctuations during menstruation, that can be defined as PMS (premenstrual syndrome), irritability, fatigue, emotional reactivity and bloating. Infertility and pregnancy are also hormonal changes that can create depression in women. Though not common, postpartum depression can cause depression in women that are experiencing the "blues" of having a baby. Additionally, women experiencing menopause and peri-menopause are known to have a history of depression as well.

How Depression Is Different in Women

Many women experiencing depression can be described as being in a constantly depressed mood, along with having an overall sense of worry, guilt, and hopelessness. Many women experience a disturbance of their sleep pattern (either sleeping a lot less, or a lot more) and have a significant alteration in their appetite and weight. Some women experience a challenge to their mental acuity, finding it difficult to concentrate and experience an overall lack of energy while dealing with constant fatigue.

Many men experience depression in direct opposition to how women handle it. They tend to blame others, are constantly on guard and feeling suspicious. They are inclined to create conflicts and blame others for their troubles.

They react agitated and feel constant anxiety and restlessness. There often irritable, ego-inflated and display angry behavior all the time. Because they tend to define the admission of self-doubt and despair as a sign of weakness, they avoid talking about it and constantly want to be in control of all things at all costs. They use sex, sports, television, drinking and other addictive behaviors as a way to self-medicate.

Recognizing the signs of depression is the first step in treating yourself for the condition. Knowledge always provides hope and a way to reverse your emotional health to its optimal levels.