Depresija predstavlja patološko neraspoloženje koje se bitno razlikuje od normalne tuge. Ovo raspoloženje predstavlja niz neprijatnih emocionalnih doživljavanja kao što su: potištenost, utučenost, očaj, tuga, zabrinutost, beznađe, bespomoćnost, apatija… Sve je popraćeno neprimjereno niskim samopoštovanjem, osjećajem manje vrijednosti, krivice, potrebom za samokažnjavanjem... Usamljenost i potiskivanje emocionalnih doživljavanja, koje diktira suvremeni način života, ali i stav koje društvo ima prema ženi, stvaraju podlogu za ovakve reakcije. Uz navedeno, uzroci depresije mogu biti vezani uz genetske anomalije, biokemijske i endokrine poremećaje. Iz navedenog se čini razumljivim zašto žene za 50 do 100% više obolijevaju od depresije.
Definirajmo spomenute pojmove: a) usamljenost i emocionalni doživljaji b) genetske anomalije c) biokemijski poremećaji d) endokrini poremećaji
a) Usamljenost i emocionalni doživljajinastaju kao odgovor na ono što društvo očekuje od žene. U ovom tekstu posvetit ću se definiciji isključivo tog pojma budući da me on najviše intrigira, a u sljedećem ću tekstu definirati ostale pojmove.
Daniel i Jason Freeman pisali su o „Spolu pod pritiskom“ ( “The Stressed Sex” ) tvrdeći da je viša stopa oboljenja od depresije kod žena rezultat povećanog pritiska na ženu da funkcionira kao njegovateljica, domaćica i hraniteljica. Drugim riječima, žene koje obavljaju sve tri funkcije najizloženije su riziku da obole od depresije. Feminizam je ženama možda donio veća prava, ali i veće obaveze. One sada moraju stići sve, moraju biti i majke i karijeristice, pritom moraju izgledati najbolje moguće i moraju biti najbolje u onome što radi. Taj nam se ideal nameće putem medija i društva, ali si ga namećemo i same. Kada ga ne uspijevamo doseći, osjećamo se kao da smo podbacile. I eto, depresija čeka iza ugla. No, ni kućanicama koje se brinu „samo“ za kućanstvo i odgoj djece nije puno bolje. Veliki dioženskog rada u tom je pogledu podcijenjen. Manjak priznanja može dovesti do toga da se žena osjeća kao da je nevidljiva, nečujna, kao da ne postoji, a žena treba osjećaj vrijednosti, i učinkovitosti, ona treba priznanje. Osim toga kućanica je ostankom kod kuće lišena druženja s odraslima i upoznavanja novih ljudi te doživljavanja novih iskustava. Prva studija ikad provedena na temu žena i depresije sprovedena od strane Brown i Harrisa „Društveni korijeni depresije“ iz 1978. (“Social Origins of Depression” 1978) pokazala je da su nedostatak raznolikosti u radu i socijalna izolacija kod kućanica uzrok depresije.
Zapravo, niti jedna krajnost nije dobra. Kod žena koje su njegovateljice, domaćice i hraniteljice, odnosno supruge, majke, ali i uspješne karijeristice, bavljenje s toliko različitih stvari može koristiti njihovom zdravlju. Žena se zbog svega toga može osjećati učinkovito i kompetentno. No, ona je u isto vrijeme pod velikim stresom i u tom je pogledu prevelik izbor izvor veće depresije nego manjak izbora. Pitanje je i da li izvor energije za obavljanje svih spomenutih poslova dolazi iz osobne želje ili zbog neke ideologije, panike ili straha od tuđeg neodobravanja. Nekad djelovanja i izbori nemaju nikakve veze osobnim preferencijama i željama. Nekad je ono što oblikuje naše svakodnevne akcije samo strah od osuda i očekivanja drugih. Pri tom se ti drugi ponašaju kao da naše želje nisu bitne. Žena je tako konstantno rastrgana između ideala savršenstva kojeg nameću ti drugi s jedne strane i nemogućnosti uspjeha s duge strane. Ali, predanostzadovoljenju idealnih standarda je predanost nestvarnim i nemogućimstandardima, što je još važnije, to je predanost tuđim standardima, i motivira akcije koje nisu odgovor na vlastite želje i potrebe, nego odgovor na vanjske standarde.
Kada je radila istraživanje na temu žena i depresije, DanaCrowly Jack u svom je radu definirala snagu nečeg što je nazvala Over Eye, što bi bio sudac koji komentira i ocjenjuje naše postupke i osjećaje, pa čak i naše misli,kako bi provjerio je li sve navedeno u skladu sa standardom dobrote. Over Eyeili vanjski sudac sagrađen je od ideala, a djeluje kada primjerice zavidimo drugim ženama koje imaju naizgled savršen život, ili kada pretpostavimo da je netko drugi ta savršena djevojka koju svi vole. Štoje Over Eye jači i ustrajniji, mi smo sve praznije, sve više se gubimo, sve više se utišavamo.
S jedne strane, promjena sociopsiholoških, ekonomskih i političkih okolnosti života, posebno u zapadnoj civilizaciji, kod žena podrazumijeva veću radnu i socijalnu aktivnost, više neovisnosti, više samouvjerenosti i veća postignuća na radnom i socijalnom području. No, s druge strane, ove promjene donijele su više usamljenosti i samohranih majki te višestruke nevolje i dodatnu viktimizaciju. Upravo u ovom području, feministički psihoterapeuti nalaze glavno uporište za dokaze o ženskoj kompetenciji, ispunjavanju funkcije vođe i samorealizaciji, ali isto tako nalaze i dokaz da je društvo i dalje nenaklonjeno ženama, te da i dalje djeluju stari stereotipi o ulozi ženskog roda.
Nekoliko je faktora, odnosno razlika u spolovima koji bi mogli objasniti zašto žene češće obolijevaju od depresije, a koji potvrđuju stavove feminističkih psihoterapeuta:
Spolne razlike u hormonima: S obzirom na to da se depresivni poremećajiu žena podudaraju s njihovim reproduktivnim godinama, hormonalni čimbenicimogu igrati ulogu. Pokazalo se da estrogen i progesteronutječu na neurotransmiterske i neuroendokrine sustave koji su upleteni u poremećaje raspoloženja. Činjenica je i da žene često prolaze kroz poremećaje raspoloženja koji su povezani s menstrualnimciklusom.
Spolne razlikeu socijalizaciji: Djevojčice su odgajane od strane roditelja i učitelja da budu brižne i osjetljive na mišljenje drugih, dok se dječake potiče da razviju jači osjećaj vičnosti i neovisnosti. Smatra se da ova vrsta socijalizacije dovodi do veće depresije kod žena koje konstantno moraju tražiti potvrdu od drugih.
Spolne razlikeu stilu suočavanja: Studije su pokazale da žene imaju tendenciju za korištenjem emocionalnijeg, promišljenijeg stila suočavanja, analizirajući neprestano probleme u svojim mislima, dok muškarci imaju tendenciju za odvraćanjem misli od problema, što im pomaže da ih bar nakratko zaborave. Pretpostavlja se da ovakav način nošenja s problemima kod žena može dovesti do dužih i težih epizoda depresije te pridonijeti većoj sklonosti ka depresiji.
Spolne razlikeu učestalosti i reakcijama na stresne događaje: Dokazi upućuju na to da, tijekom svog života, žene mogu doživjeti više stresnih događaja te posjeduju veću osjetljivost na njih nego muškarci. Adolescentice su sklone govoriti o više negativnih životnih događaja od dječaka, a ti se obično odnose na njihove odnose s roditeljima i vršnjacima, te doživljavaju veću razinu stresa zbog istih. Studije su pokazale i da kod odraslih žene postoji veća vjerojatnost nego kod muškaraca da postanu depresivne nakon stresnog događaja ili je čest slučaj da su žene iskusile izuzetno stresan događaj u razdoblju od šest mjeseci prije veće depresivne epizode.
Društvene uloge i kulturni utjecaji: Također postojiteorija da žene koje postaju kućanice i majke mogu smatrati da je njihova uloga podcijenjena od društva, dok se žene koje odluče „naganjati“ karijeru mogu suočiti s diskriminacijom ili će se osjećati sukob između uloge supruge i majke i rada. Zbog društvenihokolnosti u kojima se žene nalaze, brige za djecu i dom te uloge koje imaju reprodukciji, depresija možepogoditi žene posebno teško jer one doživljavajuta područja kao područja u kojima sedefiniraju sebe i mogu osjećati da nemaju alternativne načine da se definiraju kad su ta područja ugrožena.
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Why are women depressed? - part 1
Depression is a pathological indisposition which is different from normal sadness. This moodis represented by series of unpleasant emotional experiences, such as: qualmishness, despondency, despair, sadness, anxiety, hopelessness, helplessness, apathy ... all accompanied byinappropriately low self-esteem, feelings of inferiority, guilt, the need forself-flagellation. Loneliness andsuppressing of emotional experiences, which are dictated by the modern way of life, but also by the attitude society has towards women, creates the basis for these reactions. In addition, causes of depression may be associated with genetic anomalies, biochemical and endocrine disorders. From the above it seems understandable why women suffer from depression 50 to 100% more.
Let’s define these terms: a) loneliness and suppressing of emotional experiences b) geneticanomalies c) biochemicaldisorders d) endocrine disorders.
a) Loneliness and suppressing of emotional experiences occur as a response to what society expects of women.In this article, I will focus on thedefinition of this term solely because itintrigues me the most, and in the next article I will define otherterms.
Daniel andJason Freeman wrote about “The Stressed Sex", claiming that higher rate of depression in women is the result of increased pressure on a woman to function as a carer, homemaker and breadwinner. In other words,women who perform all three functions are most exposed to the risk of developing depression.Feminism maybe brought greater rights to women but it also broughtgreater responsibilities. Now they must get everything done, they must be both mothers and career women, looking theirbest while doing so and being best at what they do. That idealis imposed by the media and society, but also by ourselves. When we have problems reaching it, we feel like we failed. And there you go, depression is waiting around the corner. But evenhousewives who care "only" for household and raising children are not in much better position. A large part of women's work in this sense is underestimated. Lack of recognition canlead to a woman feeling as if she is invisible, silent, as if she does not exist, and a woman needsa sense of value and efficiency, she needs recognition. Additionallyhousewife staying at home is deprived of socializing with adults and meeting new people and experiencing new experiences. First study evermade on the topic of women and depression conducted by Brown andHarris ("Social Origins of Depression" in 1978) showed that lack of diversity in work and social isolation of a housewifecan cause depression.
In fact, neitherextreme is good. In women who are carers, homemakersand breadwinners or wives, mothers andsuccessful career women, dealing with so many different things can be good to their health. Because of all of this a woman can feeluseful and competent.But at the same time she is under a lot of stress andin this sense the source of too many choices can cause depression more than the lack of choices. The question is also whether the energy to perform all of these tasks comes from personal desire or because of someideology, panic or fear of disapproval. Sometimesactions and choiceshave nothing to do with personal preferences and desires. Sometimes what shapes our everyday actionsis just fear of judgment and expectations of others. At the same time “the others” behave as ifour desires are not important. A woman is that way constantly torn between the ideal of perfection imposed by those “others”on one hand and the impossibilityto achieve that ideal on the other hand. But, commitment to meet ideal standards is a commitment to unreal and impossiblestandards, and more importantly, it is a commitment to someone else'sstandards, it motivates actions that are not a response to our desires and needs, but the response to external standards.
When doing research on topic of women anddepression, in her work Dana Crowly Jack defined thepower of something called Over Eye, which would be a judgewho reviews and evaluates our actions and feelings, even our thoughts, to check whether everything mentioned is in accordance with the standard of goodness. Over Eye or external judge is constructed from ideals and it acts for example when we envy other women who have a seemingly perfect life, orwhen we assume that someone else is that perfectgirl that everyone loves. With Over Eye getting stronger and more persistent, we are becoming more empty, the more we lose ourselves, the more we silence ourselves.
On one hand, changes in psychosocial, economic and political circumstances of life, especially in Western civilization, for women imply higher labor and social activity,more independence, more confidence and greater achievements in work and social sphere. But on the other hand,these changes have brought more loneliness and more single mothers, more multiple distress and further victimization. It is in this area that feminist therapists find main evidence about women's competence, leadership and self-realization, but the area where they also find the evidence that society is still unfriendlyto women, and that old stereotypes about the role of the female sex still function.
There are several factors and gender difference that may explain why women suffer from the depression more, which also confirm the views of feminist therapist:
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Gender differences inhormones: Given that depressive disorders in women match their reproductive years, hormonal factors may play a role. It has been shown thatestrogen and progesterone affect neurotransmitter and neuroendocrine systems which are connected with mood disorders. It is also the fact that women often go throughmood disorders associated with themenstrual cycle.
Gender differences in socialization: Girls are raised by parents and teachers to be caring and sensitive to the opinions of others, while boys are encouraged to develop a greater sense of mastery and independence. It is believed that this kind of socialization leads to greater depression in women who constantly have to seek confirmation from others.
Gender differences in coping styles: Studies have shown that women tend to use more emotional, measured coping style, constantly analyzing the problems in their minds, while men tendto deflect thoughts from the problems, which helps them forget their problems even for a moment. It is assumed that this way of dealing with problems in women can lead to longerand more severe episodes of depression and contribute to a greater tendency towards depression.
Gender differences in the frequency and reactions to stressful events: Evidences suggest that, throughout life, women may experiencemore stressful events and have greater sensitivity to them than men. Adolescent girls tend to talk about more negative life events than boys, and these are usually related totheir relationships with parents andpeers, and they also experience higher level of stress connected to these problems. Studies have shown that adult women are more likely than men to become depressed after a stressful event or it is often the case that women have experienced an extremely stressful event in a period of six months before a majordepressive episode.
Social roles and cultural influences: There is also atheory that women who become housewives and mothersmay feel that their role is undervalued by society, while women who choose to "chase" career, may face discrimination or will feela conflict between the role of a wifeand a mother and work. Because of the socialcircumstances in which women find themselves, caring for children and home, and the role they play in reproduction, depression can hit women particularly hard because they perceive these areas as areas in which they define themselves and they may feel they have no alternative ways to define when these areas arethreatened.
text written by Iva
text edited by Iva
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