Major Depressive Disorder: Are Women the Primary Victims?

Running Head: MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER
MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER
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Author Note

MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER1
Psychology considers violent mood swings and a very volatile temperament as a
mood disorder. These disorders consist of various mental health issues like bipolar disorder
and even depression. This particular category of mental illness might often cause a sudden
and serious change in the general attitude and outlook of the person diagnosed with the same.
Major Depressive Disorder or MDD is a similar kind of mood disorder that exists primarily
amongst women and is a cause of great tension in the society because of the high level of
occurrence in the society (Judd). Thus, in this paper we will argue if women are the primary
victims of Major Depressive Disorder as compared to men. This will be done by carefully
studying and analyzing trends in studies connected to MDD and by exploring the triggers that
are often societal, familial or even personal.
In the context of mood disorders, one must know that there are various kinds of mood
disorders prevalent in the modern era. With the mental health at the brink of descent for most
people due to strange lifestyles and a decrease in social interaction, it is evident that
psychologists are concerned about the future of the society that is riddled with such diseases
that can neither be seen or heard and comes to the forefront only when it is very late. These
mood disorders maybe bipolar disorder that causes sudden violent shifts in the mood of a
person, Major depressive disorder of depression on a dangerous scale, persistent depressive
disorder or the kind of depression that refuses to be treated, hyper active egos or the egos that
are overinflated, cyclothymic disorder which is also called the onset of bipolar disorder and
SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder is a kind of depression that happens at a particular time
of the year.
To explore the subject of major depressive disorder it is imperative that one must
know about what depression is in the branch of psychology. It sin a very common mental
illness that can happen in every kind of age, to all kinds of people. According to the facts
collected by research it is seen that the estimate of the lifetime prevalence of the same in the

MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER2
USA. Statistics show that 20% women and 12% men are diagnosed with depression. It is
evident that women are being diagnosed more by this disease than men by a significant
percentage and also the reasons are not very clear it is considered that women tend to feel the
need to let all their feelings out in order to lead a very normal life (World Health
Organisation). Thus they attend sessions at the psychologist on a regular basis while men
often internalize their feelings because they are scared of being judged or looked down upon
for displaying a certain amount of weakness. This is caused by the difference in standards
asked of the two sexes and toxic patriarchy.
The statistics connected to depression suggests that the majority of people who are
diagnosed with MDD or Major depressive disorder are women. They constitute of 70%-80%
of the total number of people. This is very high than the number of men who suffer from the
same. This because of various factors like: enormous social pressure to match up various
societal standards of beauty and behavior, a huge inequality of income which is stressful,
exposure to violence that is highly gender based like domestic violence, molestation and
unconsented violation of a woman sexually, physically or mentally, the secondary status in
the society and the cultural behavior of people against women. Although it is recorded that
women are more upfront about their feelings, it is also noted that they abstain from the same
when they are convinced of the results a sway of trying to avoid the reality as long as
possible. They keep hesitating to accept any kind of counsel offered to them. According to
Piccinelli and Homen in 1997, “Depression contributes most significantly to the global
burden of disease and it is the most frequently encountered women’s mental health problem.”
A similarity has been noted by Murray and Lopez in 1996 as well when they noted,
“Unipolar or major depression occurs approximately twice as often in women as in men and
is predicted to be the second leading cause of global disease burden by 2020.”

MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER3
It must be noted that women diagnosed with MDD are often subjected to treatment
that is not borne by people who are mentally healthy. This is a huge case for concern in the
society because women must be protected and like every man, she is now at par at various
sectors and even leading at countless places. The role of the woman in the society is very
diverse. They are the main providers of care and education when it comes to families and
children. The modern day woman no longer limits herself to the singular image of a care
provider and mother, and has risen to multitask and take on the world with various integral
roles like entrepreneurs and the workforce. It must be noted that women play an integral part
in the workforce that sustains the nation and if they are subject to adverse behavior and
scenarios that make them spiral into MDD, the nation will be affected as a whole and if it
unchecked, the nation will inevitably stop rising and start falling because of the large number
of women who will be diagnosed with MDD.
Women have been subjugated by countless men since the beginning of time.
Everyday might seem like a struggle in the eyes of the woman. Women are mostly the
caregivers of their families, they are constantly stressed about the wellbeing of the members
that leaves very little time for her to think about herself as compromises set in and the needs
of other people become first priority. Most women nowadays work as well, they are often
subjected to harassment by their male peers, and they cannot handle the stress of work and
family at once and are paid lesser than their male counterparts because it is considered that
they are not effective enough because of their various obligations at various places. This is
especially depressing for women who effectively multitask and balance all parts of their lives.
Back at home, they are often subjected to domestic violence. Jealousy in men who realize
that their wife is at par with them often causes anger and resentment while then men who are
the only bread earner of their families indulge in domestic abuse because of their dominant