WOMEN & DEPRESSION

Did you know that,

• One out of eight women experience depression.
• Women with depression receive the wrong diagnosis between 30 - 50% of the time.
• Fewer than one-half of women with depression ever seek care for it.

Feeling “blue,” sad, or hopeless does not have to be a part of everyday life–depression is one of the most treatable mental health illnesses.

• Most women with depression can be successfully treated with psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of both.
• Experiencing some kind of loss or other traumatic stressor can induce “situational” depression, which can be successfully treated with short-term psychotherapy, EMDR/Brainspotting.
• Some depression results from an imbalance of certain brain chemicals. This type of depression can be treated with newer antidepressant medications that have fewer side effects than the popularly known Prozac.
• The most successful treatment for chemically-based depression combines medication and psychotherapy.

Pre- and Postpartum Depression

• Over 10% of pregnant women and 15% of postpartum women experience depression.
• Most (80%) new mothers experience “the baby blues”–mood swings that come from widely fluctuating hormones common after childbirth.
• If you have depression before getting pregnant, you are more likely to experience depression after giving birth
• However, depression should subside after hormone levels have stabilized, usually within a couple of weeks.
• 10 - 20% of new mothers experience a more severe version of “baby blues,” called “Postpartum Depression” (PPD). These symptoms are the same as clinical depression, but new mothers tend to worry excessively about their baby’s health and safety.
• Like clinical depression, PPD is treatable. Research as shown that psychotherapy helps new mothers combat PPD and, if necessary, some antidepressant medications have been shown to be safe during pregnancy and breast-feeding.

Together we can determine whether or not you have depression and what kind of treatment best suits your situation and needs.

For more information on depression, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Illiness at: Nami.org