Women and Antidepressant Use

In any given year, about 5.4 percent of the U.S. population or about 9.9 million people suffer from a general state of misery and discontent, according to studies by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Another 5 percent or 9.2 million are sick with the most severe form of illness called major depression.(Hassibi 1997). More than two-third of these 19 million are women. The basic fact is that more women than men in the United States are diagnosed with major depression and then prescribed antidepressant drugs such as Prozac. In order to to try and understand why so many more women were prescribed antidepressants than men a Canadian based study was performed. The study attempted to address how women came to be diagnosed with and treated for depression, their understandings of whatcaused their depressions and their experiences of the treatment they received.

Only nine women took part, their ages ranging from nineteen to ninety-six, and all where white and Canadian-born. Each woman was brought in for several interviews over a period of six weeks. They were only interviewed once in a day. In each interview, the women described having both positive and negative reactions to being diagnosed with depression. Some had feelings of relief, while others were very reluctant to accept that their problem was depression. It is very important to note that almost all of the women in this study were much more likely to attribute difficulties they were having in their lives to depression than to flaws within themselves.

This study helps one to see how some women might link other problems in her life to her diagnosis of depression. In other words, a woman might become more dependent on certain antidepressant, like Prozac, because she may feel that the drug will help her improve many of the problems in her life. This particular study, while small and limited, helps an onlooker to see one way in which women might view drugs such as Prozac as the most helpful way to combat their own depression.