Is depression hormonal?
Q.I'm not trying to play down other types of depression, but I can't help but notice most of my female friends aged 15 - 30 are on some kind of AD - our docs are writing scripts without really telling us what the scientific / chemical prob is - we get a label or several but no 'proof'...IS IT HORMONAL OR ARE NEARLY ALL FEMALES DEPRESSED?
A.Many GPs commit the wreckless act of writing AD prescriptions for subclinical symptons. But this is more indicative of the doctors' failings and not the meds they are prescribing. Is depression just a normal part of the human condition? Well, that depends upon your definition of depression. What exactly do you mean by depression. The word means totally different things to many different people. If you are talking about the kind of depression you get when a loved one dies or your boyfriend/girlfriend leaves you, well yes, that is situational depression and YES that kind of depression it totally normal. If you are talking about the kind of depression in which bodily functions start to fall apart and you experience severe suicidal ideation, severe sleep problems, crying for no real reason...well then the answer is NO this type of depression is not normal in the human condition. I dont really know why so many younger women are on meds these days, but yeah I do agree most are on something or have been on something. One thing you should remember is that antidepressants these days are used for a lot more than clinical depression. They are used for all types of anxiety disorders such as panic attacks, OCD, generalized anxiety, etc. Antidepressants are also used in women to ease PMS and to treat the unique kind of depression that comes after child birth. Fluctuations in estrogen make women especially susceptible to mood disorders. Estrogen has a strong effect on serotonin. Changing estrogen levels can mean changing moods. Antidepressants are also used for chronic headaches and migraines...women seem to have more of those than men do. Plus women tend to have more thyroid disorders than men do and thyroid disorders go hand in hand with depression and anxiety disorders. So if you add up all these other conditions women tend to have more of than men...chronic headaches, anxiety disorders including OCD, PMS, etc. then it makes more sense for so many women to be on meds. Another theory I have that explains why so many women are on antidepressants is due to the fact so many young women are on birth control pills. It has long been known that birth control pills decrease serotonin levels in women, just like steroids do. Some women develop "bitchiness" or mood/anxiety disorders when on birth control pills. In fact, some women lose interest in sex after they go on the pill. I suspect the pill may have quite a bit to do with why so many young women seem to develop anxiety and/or depression. This is just my personal opinion though. It is also a well known fact that women have a much higher chance of developing clinical depression than men do. This is plain as day and is an uncontested fact. Yes, its part of the human condition, just like cancer, heart attacks, strokes, infection, flu and bad jokes. And I know people who are labelled as depressed who would suffer more if they got a bad infection. And I know/have met people whos depression is more serious, more agonising and more deadly than some cancers. Yes there are many people on this planet who aren't depressed. And there are many more who don't suffer from depression which is totally dehabilitating.
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