Women and Depression Issues - Research Paper Example

Women go through emotional entanglements because their roles change significantly. Those women with kids have to be the fathers and mothers of the home after the divorce. They are the ones stuck with the children until the same is at the age of making their own decisions, and with all that it can be overwhelming, which can lead to depression. Women who are divorced portray a great difference compared to those who are in good marriages because they have the responsibility of explaining to the kids why they are not a family.

The kids may also have it rough at school with the rest of the children, which eventually leads to the mother being more depressed in trying to explain to their kids why their family is different from the rest of their classmates (Goodman & Keyes, 2006). Depression can make women be susceptible to diseases since it often coexists with other diseases. Depression in women often leads to eating disorders where a woman tends to eat more than enough, eventually leading to excessive weight gain that can be harmful to the body.

An eating disorder can also be not being able to eat at all or feeling nauseated after eating, causing unhealthy weight loss (National Institute of Health, 2011). There is also anxiety disorder as a result of depression where women are more prone to this than men. This includes obsessive and disorders compulsive, social phobia, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorders. Depression in women can develop in them after enduring terrifying events or ordeals, so they are afraid of going through what happened to them or totally avoid situations that may put them in the same position.

This leads to depression every time they see or hear something that is similar to the horrifying events they underwent. Depression also coexists with serious diseases such as heart attacks, HIV, cancer, stroke, and diabetes that can eventually lead to the death of those affected if the depression is not treated early (National Institute of Health, 2011). The use of drugs and substances can also be a result of depression among women, which can eventually lead to addiction to serious drugs. Depression can take an effect in both males and females.

Some people do not survive it and those who do may have mood disorders for a long time before completely recovering from the same (National Institute of Health, 2011). There is a connection between the immune system and stress where it has been proved that stress in women suppresses the immune system function and with time, it wears out because it can never adapt to the stress. The immune system is supposed to protect the body but once it cannot be regulated, it starts to harm the body from stress. Stress can lead to immune disorders causing diseases such as AIDs, cancer, and other linked ailments of the body (Mcleod, 2010).

Stress produces a hormone in the body referred to as cortisol and the brain recognizes the hormone as a flight or fight hormone which causes the rest of the body functions to be halted until the stressful circumstances have passed. The immune system sends signals to reverse the situation, but when a woman is undergoing chronic stress, the immune system stays at a low profile leaving the body vulnerable to all kinds of diseases and infections. 

The worst kind of diseases for women as a result of stress includes digestive problems, poor memory function, skin condition, and cardiovascular disease.

Little stress in women can also affect your health where there is no system that puts the immune system at work. In this situation, the immune system does what it wants. Where it starts attacking the healthy invaders, this can lead to diseases like tendonitis and arthritis (Vandermark, 2011). Having more stress is worse than having little stress and women should not have to worry about having little stress. Instead, they should involve themselves in activities that are less stressful in their daily activities.