Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Acknowledgements
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction: being female
- Part I Women in perspective
- Part II Women and society
- Part III Women and their environment
- Part IV Women and specific disorders
- 18 Depression and other mood disorders
- 19 Anxiety disorders
- 20 Trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder
- 21 The dangers of rumination
- 22 Obsessive–compulsive disorder
- 23 Eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder
- 24 Psychosexual disorders
- 25 Personality disorders: risks and recovery
- 26 Self-harm
- 27 Women and addiction
- 28 Autism spectrum disorder
- 29 Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
- 30 Psychotic illness
- 31 Postnatal depression and postpartum psychosis
- 32 Living longer: normal age-related changes, dementia and depression
- Part V Women and treatment
- Contributors
- Index
18 - Depression and other mood disorders
from Part IV - Women and specific disorders
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 January 2018
- Frontmatter
- Acknowledgements
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction: being female
- Part I Women in perspective
- Part II Women and society
- Part III Women and their environment
- Part IV Women and specific disorders
- 18 Depression and other mood disorders
- 19 Anxiety disorders
- 20 Trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder
- 21 The dangers of rumination
- 22 Obsessive–compulsive disorder
- 23 Eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder
- 24 Psychosexual disorders
- 25 Personality disorders: risks and recovery
- 26 Self-harm
- 27 Women and addiction
- 28 Autism spectrum disorder
- 29 Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
- 30 Psychotic illness
- 31 Postnatal depression and postpartum psychosis
- 32 Living longer: normal age-related changes, dementia and depression
- Part V Women and treatment
- Contributors
- Index
Summary
Amanda's story
At first Amanda didn't know what was wrong. She kept waking up and worrying about her children. She stopped going shopping with her friends. She was tired all the time, and found it took a huge effort just to get dinner ready. She began to snap and shout at her family. Her husband John didn't understand what was happening and found it difficult to cope with her loss of interest in sex.
Every day Amanda felt like she was going around in a fog. She began to call in sick to work and have suicidal thoughts. John caught her with a handful of pills and convinced her to seek help. She was diagnosed with depression and prescribed antidepressant medication. Amanda began to regain her energy, appetite and ability to sleep. She also started psychological therapy, which she found helped her manage her moods and start doing normal things again. She felt the fog had lifted and was able to go back to work.
It's normal to feel sad, fed up or miserable at times. But if you feel low for weeks or months, and it's so bad it affects your life, it might be depression.
Depression is a leading cause of disability in the world today. It is very common: 1 in 5 women and 1 in 8 men are affected, often between 20 and 55 years of age. Famous women who have been depressed include the actress Angelina Jolie, the author J.K. Rowling, the singer Karen Carpenter and the comedienne Ruby Wax. The good news is that, once depression is recognised, there are effective treatments and ways to prevent it coming back.
What types of mood disorder affect women?
Clinical depression (also called major depressive disorder)
Depression is more than sadness, grief or disappointment. It can affect every area of your life, physically as well as mentally. Everyone is different, but most women with depression have at least four of the ten symptoms listed in Box 18.1.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Female MindUser's Guide, pp. 113 - 122Publisher: Royal College of PsychiatristsPrint publication year: 2017