Various high-profile women in the media have been admitting to depression recently.
With careers and children, these were the ladies that we thought were the epitome of the successful, in-control lifestyles to which we all aspired.
But it would seem that Having My Cake and Eating It Too comes with a pretty hefty mental price tag.
Research published last year from the NHS Information Centre showed that a quarter of women aged between 45 and 64 are suffering from serious depression, up 20% from 2003 and contrasting sharply with previous data which showed depression in women peaking between adolescence and early twenties.
Women in their middle years are having to face up to the fact that trying to do everything, be everywhere and experience all that life has to offer leaves us feeling that we have failed in all those endeavours.
In an age where we are supposed to be able to have it all, everything never seems to be enough and we are constantly comparing our situations to others who seem to have more – both financially and emotionally.
Keeping a large number of plates spinning and continually juggling time contraints and emotional guilt take their toil and, with all the detrimental factors of today’s modern diets and eating patterns, our already rampant hormones run amok. Chaos reigns amongst the unfettered, imbalanced melting pot until depression kicks in.
Bipolar, post-natal depression, menopausal depression, hormonal depression, pre-menstrual depression, mid life crisis depression: they’re all labels that purport to be cured by pharmaceutical drugs – SSRIs (happy pills), Temazepan, Valium – cognitive therapies or herbal medicines – St John’s Wort, amongst many others. But, really, we should be addressing a lifestyle that affects our body’s metabolism by restricting the nutrition it requires to function correctly. This, in turn, prevents it from being able to regulate and balance the large number of different hormonal levels.
It doesn’t matter that, in physical terms, life is made so much easier with all the technological advances. Because, no longer having to scrub front steps and grimy collars means that we have to find other ways to exercise and stay in shape if we want to avoid becoming overweight.
The pressure from the media of always having to look good leaves us perpetually worried about the deepening of our wrinkles, forever looking into expensive creams and surgical procedures in an attempt to stay young. Stressing about things over which we have no real control and exacerbating the frown lines.
Apparently, the midlife depression spike falls away again at about the age of 54 – is it just a coincidence that this is about the time that most women complete the criteria for Menopause and their hormones start to settle down? A time when we stop being driven by some of the more strident hormones and start to understand the transparency of the must-have lifestyle with all its material possessions and financial fripperies.
And, with our hormones under control, we can start to reassess our emotional commitments and requirements.
Two-thirds of divorces are initiated by women, with the biggest increase in applications being from those over 50.
Originally posted 2010-05-11 09:44:56. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
I cant remember which of Gloria Steinems peers said this but it was enlightening.
“Job, Husband, Kids……You can only have 2 out of 3.
Hmmm… I don’t seem to have any of those at the moment :) But I regained my self-esteem!
And then there’s always ‘Depression is a Choice’ by A.B. Curtiss.
A startling, sobering, sure-to-cause-unrest book.
Well worth reading for *anyone* who has contended with depression.
I have not read the book, probitionate, but from my own experience, I know how easy it is to fall into that choice. People around me will find all sorts of reasons not to do anything positive but slip further into the hole because it requires a complete change of outlook and lifestyle.
Joanna;
I think you’d find the author’s take would make for a worthwhile read. (She’s suffered from bi-polar disorder, as does her brother, and her father died as a result of the affliction.)
She lambastes the ‘psychotherapy-pharmaceutical’ industry something awful…while holding up an honest mirror to society-at-large.
Hmmmm … I’m going to be 58 and am still depressed. I wonder if there’s still hope?
Probitionate, sounds like my cup of tea, I will put it on my list. There seem to be pills for everything, when really many people just need to retrain themselves to deal with things differently. Hypnotherapy can be a wonderful thing as can good honest counselling.
Yes! You just need to find the right therapist x