Tell-Tale Signs Of Depression In Women

Depression affects men and women of all ages and walks of life. However, experts agree that depression symptoms in women are more prevalent, and its severity is heightened by stress and other important life events ad changes. The National Mental Health Association projects that 1 out of eight women will develop this condition at one time in her lifetime. Hitting rock bottom in a relationship or career path are common causes of depression among women but if it persists for a more than two weeks, seeing a doctor for treatment is advisable.

In a layman’s point of view, there are two kinds of depression: one that is constructive and one that is destructive. Constructive depression is often a normal reaction to unpleasant situations or events in life. This kind of depression normally wears off after a short span of time or recur from time to time but is generally healthy and non-life threatening. Destructive depression, on the other hand, lingers and hold the victim in chains, delimiting her in almost all aspects of her life. It affects her self-image, relationships with people, studies or career—pretty much her whole life. This person should seek professional help already.

Usually, it is tricky to verify if a woman is suffering from depression or mere mood swing. Depression symptoms in women may vary from person to person but there are general depression symptoms that are hard to miss. Following is a list of signs to look for in a woman who could be suffering from depression:

Social withdrawal

Clamming up in one’s shell is the first instinctual move a depressed woman would do. She would ditch shopping and movie nights with her girlfriends and avoid social gatherings at all cost, choosing to spend majority of her time alone in her room.

Loneliness

Loneliness is the result of her creating a wall around herself. In her mind she feels left out, abandoned, and unloved. Without significant others or people to reinforce her, she contemplates her situation as miserable and she, a hopeless case. To protect herself from the pain of loneliness, she develops a protective mechanism and hardens her heart toward affection coming from the world surrounding her.

Loss of interest in life

A once bubbly, outgoing woman suffering from depression would find it pointless to be enthusiastic about life in general. She does not have passion in things she normally enjoy such as music, literature, sports, etc. She settles for less and do not expect much from life.

Suicidal thoughts or contemplation of death

Depression is one of the leading reasons why people commit suicide. Feelings of pain and loneliness that doesn’t go away, problems that seem unsolvable, and big mistakes in life often drive depressed people to think and talk about death, and worse, commit them.

Change in appetite and weight

Some women lose their appetite when depressed and develop eating disorders like anorexia nervosa. Contrariwise, some women gain more appetite and pack on a lot of pounds when confronted with depression. Either way, it’s not healthy to be under eating or overeating, which can lead to more health complications.

Fatigue and lack of energy

Depression can drag the body down making it feel lethargic and low in energy. Couple it with lack of social life and physical exercise, this condition can affect her performance at home, work or school.

Change in sleep patterns

Insomnia often develops and changes in sleep patterns become evident. Some women resort to oversleeping due to an unexplainable feeling of tiredness while some go paranoid thinking depressing thoughts all throughout the night.

Difficulty or inability to focus

Loss of focus is one of the most obvious mental depression symptoms who, under normal conditions, do not feel or act distracted. Since depression controls her thought life, she finds it hard to take a break from ruminating. This behaviour often invites troubles and heightens risks of putting herself in danger.