Women have a number of issues they have to deal with each year: family, career, caring for elderly parents, menstruation, pregnancy and menopause, to name a few. However, there is one more problem that millions of women face each year: depression. There are a number of reasons that women are more susceptible to this debilitating disease and fortunately, many treatments available to control it.

18.8 million Americans, which is approximately 10% of the population, suffer from depression in any given year (LearnAboutDepression.com). Most people know depression as a feeling of sadness, however, the disease it quite more in depth than that. Depression is defined as an emotional state of persistent dejection, ranging from relatively mild discouragement and gloominess to feelings of extreme despondency and despair (Encyclopedic Dictionary 246).

There are a number of symptoms that can occur with depression, and it has been found that women tend to possess some different symptoms than men. Some of these symptoms are: increased appetite, oversleeping, and expressed anger, while men seem to report the opposite effects. Other general symptoms include irritability, social withdrawal, fe

“Genetic Differences Partly Account for Higher Incidence of Depression in Women.”

elings of gloominess and worthlessness, and loss of desire to participate in activities that used to be pleasurable. Depression also affects the brain. It interferes with concentration and the ability to make decisions (Psychology Information).

Many believe that the reason there are more cases of female depression may be that women are more likely to go for help because men worry more about how they will be perceived socially (LearnaboutDepression.com).

However, some psychologists suggest trying other treatments before turning to medication. An article in Glamour said that in a German study it was found that exercise may help relieve depression in as little as 10 days. In this article, James Blumenthal, a professor of psychology at Duke University Medical Center says “many women in their twenties and thirties are being prescribed antidepressants when in reality, they’d get comparable, or even better results by exercising (qtd. in Levine 88). Blumenthal suggests 3 sessions of 30 minute cardio a week, and claims that symptoms should lessen rather quickly (Levine 88).

Depression has proved to be genetic. There is a 25% chance that a person will get depression if first degree relatives had it (NAMI). Zubenko believes that differences in genes are the cause of the gender gap. The professor found a chromosome, named CREB1 that makes up .01% of the human genome. He believes that depression can be blamed on this chromosome. 80% of women who inherited this gene experienced depression, while in a second version of the gene, the women seemed to be safe from the disease (“Genetic Differences” 7).

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Although psychologists have not found a precise reason for the susceptibility of women to this disease, they have found a number of successful treatments. A few of these treatments a

Some topics in this essay:
School Medicine, Psychology Information, NAMI Zubenko, Suffering Women, Sheet” Differences, Medical Center, Encyclopedic Dictionary, TreatmentsforDepressioncom Psychotherapy, Information Psychologists, LearnAboutDepressioncom Leibenluft, psychology information, oct 2003, women depression, 29 oct, nov 2003, 29 oct 2003, “understanding depression”, 2003 “women depression”, women susceptible, depressioncom 29, depression women”, common form, stress “understanding depression”, “genetic differences” 7, women’s health weekly,