There are many societal expectations of women that can result in pushing away symptoms of depression. People expect women to have successful relationships and careers while being the primary caretakers for their families and supporting their loved ones. The heavy responsibilities can mask underlying mental health crises like depression.
These are eight potential reasons for depression in women that may help you identify whether you need assistance to find more joy in your life.
1. Having Monthly Hormonal Changes
Young women often hear that menstruation is a wonderful gift, but some have more challenging monthly experiences than others. Your premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms could result in depressive thoughts and moods because your hormones are unbalanced. Talk with your doctor if your depressive episodes disrupt your life during or around your periods.
2. Starting or Continuing Menopause
Menopause changes your hormones in similar ways to puberty. Your estrogen and progesterone levels will decrease over a year or longer, potentially triggering negative mood swings that last longer than a few hours. Your perimenopausal depression could also result from other menopause symptoms, like being unable to sleep through the night or not getting proper nutrition because your appetite disappears.
3. Becoming Pregnant and Giving Birth
Depression can affect women while they’re pregnant. The condition is called perinatal depression and occurs while your hormones adjust throughout each trimester. You can also develop postpartum depression after giving birth. Experts estimate that one in nine women will deal with this type of depression even if they’ve never had mental health problems before.
While everyone’s telling you to enjoy bonding with your baby, you might have symptoms like having suicidal ideation or losing all motivation to take care of your infant.
4. Living Through Difficult Experiences
Sometimes women make tough decisions that are right for them but result in conflict with themselves or their loved ones. Difficult decisions surrounding life events like pregnancy can leave women needing some time to process their experiences before feeling like themselves again.
They could also face difficulties with loved ones who don’t understand their experience, making the process more traumatic. Feeling judged and isolated can result in depression that disrupts their daily lives.
5. Struggling With Finances
Labor market experts agree that national wages have remained stagnant for the past few decades. It’s difficult not to feel depressed when you can’t afford things that you need. Even if you manage to find and compare affordable health insurance or utility providers, an emergency expense could trigger a depressive episode due to financial despair.
6. Inheriting a Genetic Predisposition
Researchers estimate that people with depression have a 40-50% chance of inheriting it through their genetic makeup. Consider whether your parents or grandparents have depression to determine if this is the cause for your symptoms.
Although it may be difficult to tell if your genes caused your depression, it’s a helpful way to pinpoint which symptoms are most likely due to what your family members experience.
7. Enduring Domestic Abuse
Domestic abuse isn’t always physical. It can also be verbal and emotional. If a woman lives with a partner, family member, or roommate who uses manipulative tactics to control their relationship, it can trigger depression. Feeling alone, worthless, or unloved are all valid reasons for someone to feel depressed.
Given that 25% of women in intimate relationships will experience domestic abuse, it’s one of the most common reasons for depression in women.
8. Performing Most of the Emotional Labor
Think about your closest relationships and how you feel while interacting with those people. You might dread talking with someone because they’ll drain your energy. If so, you might be performing all of the emotional labor in the relationship.
Women can fall into this trap by becoming someone’s therapist in an attempt to support them. In return, your mental health may suffer and result in depression. Handling all of the emotional labor makes people alone, uncared for, and tired. It’s okay to feel this way, but reach out for help setting boundaries to mitigate your symptoms and improve the relationship.
Learn About Causes of Depression for Women
These are some of the common reasons for depression in women, so consider if they affect your personal life. No matter what’s causing your mental health to suffer, you can find help by identifying the trigger and its related solutions.
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