Depression continuously makes someone feel being numb, it is the feeling of being numb emotionally and being numb in life. Sadness and crying are not depression as other people might understand it. 40 percent of the population in America have been found to undergoing depression. Women are the most affected by depression more than men. This paper will discuss the societal factors that will be led to gender disparity in depression among women. Media, social, biological and psychological factors are some areas to be looked into together with evolutionary theories that talk about depression among genders. Exploring impacts of media, biological factors, psychological difficulties and sociocultural fluctuation will offer understanding of depression among women.
Media is very important in the society today as it help in shaping the societal expectations and perception. The use of newspapers and magazines focusses on some unrealistic beauty and narrow range of body type (Fredrickson & Roberts, 2019). In my view, these emphasizes are fantasy, most people will not achieve them in the society hence leading to dissatisfaction with their body.
Television and movies, women are mainly viewed according to their appearance and not skill and personality. Such exposure can lead to a feeling of low self esteem and inferiority among someone’s peers and this feeling will lead to depression (Fredrickson & Roberts, 2019. It is very common among the females to compare themselves with their peers than in males hence increase in depression among women. Individuals will feel inadequacy and develop depression when they are rank as per their appearance and not personality of skill.
Biological factors have impact in gender disparity in depression. Menstrual cycles, pregnancies and menopause that are leading to mood variation, are related to fluctuation in hormones (Fredrickson & Roberts, 2019). Family history depression can lead to risk of one getting into depression. Research has found out that women are of the high percentage of depression hereditary. Identifying the biological differences in the environment, will help to make new inventions that will aid in treatment of the unique biological aspects associated with depression in women. Hormonal fluctuations vary from one gender to another and will affect the mood hence increased depressions among women.
Cognitive and emotional processes as psychological factors, enhance high prevalence of depression in women. Pressure brought by gender-based discrimination, differing societal expectations and higher rate of interpersonal violence require a quick adaptability (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2019). Most men will be able to adapt very fast to various difficulties they face which will be the opposite to the women. This has been a factor that has led to many women feeling into depression.
Sociocultural norms play a role in increased depression among women. While growing in the society, there are some responsibilities that have been seen as entitled to each gender and when they fail to fulfil, they are considered failure in the society. Women often face expectations related to caregiving, perfectionism, and the challenge of balancing work and family life (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2019). Media has made universe a small village where one talk to one another wherever they are and also sharing of information has led to learning of others culture. This has led to women understanding the pressure they are going through in their cultural setting. The pressure will lead to stress and increase vulnerability to depression.
Evolutionary theories argues that increased women prone to depression is caused by the adaptive response to some challenges that they have gone through over the years. Social navigation hypothesis suggests that women, as primary caregivers, developed a heightened sensitivity to social cues and emotions, making them more prone to depressive symptoms in response to interpersonal challenges (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2019). Evolutionary theories link the following evolutionary adaptations, reproductive strategies, and the manifestation of depressive symptoms. The perspectives in these evolutionary theories, is from the ancestral ties and a lot have occurred in the modern society and has influenced gender disparity among men and women.
In conclusion, biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors will create high chance of depression among women than they will cause to men. Media with its influence in the society, will have the biggest percentage in causing depression. Evolutionary theories offer insights into the adaptive aspects of women’s vulnerability to depression. Understanding the factors will be a step further in campaign to overcome depression in our society. Depression is darkness that one goes through, as a society, we must give hope to those who are depressed by telling them that there is wonderful life in the other end of that dark and hopeless life they are living now.
References
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2019). Emotion regulation and psychopathology: The role of gender. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 15, 235–257.
Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. (2019). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 43(3), 237–251.
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