Questions & Answers
1. Does depression affect men and women differently?
Women experience depression about twice as often as men. Many factors may contribute to the increased rate of depression in women, particularly menstrual cycle changes, pregnancy, the postpartum period, pre-menopause, and menopause. Many women may also face additional stresses, such as responsibilities both at work and home, single parenthood, and caring for children and aging parents.
2. If you wait long enough, will depression go away?
For some individuals, depression may go away by itself. But for many, depression can hang on for months, years or indefinitely if left untreated. Sometimes, depression goes away on its own, only to return in the future. Once an individual has one episode of depression, he or she has a higher risk of having it again. Clinical depression is a potentially fatal disease — and suicide could be the end result of waiting for it to go away without any help. Mental health is just as important as physical health, and it needs to be treated that way. It is not about being emotionally weak, or not being “strong” enough. We all need to get past these ideas, and the stigma that prevents people — especially minorities — from getting treatment.
3. Does depression occur only after a sad event in your life, such as the death of a loved one?
A sad event in your life can cause a grief reaction, which is totally normal, but slowly gets better with time. On occasion, people get stuck in the grief, and it can turn into depression, which is no longer a normal response and requires more aggressive treatment. Grief counseling and other forms of therapy can be very helpful in dealing with painful events that occur in life, and may prevent the onset of depression.
4. Do only suicidal people require antidepressants?
No. Antidepressant medications work for many people — they can make you feel better and can improve or completely relieve your symptoms. But sometimes people have unrealistic fears or expectations about them. Some hope to feel better overnight, when it often takes more than two weeks; others worry that medications will change their personalities in ways they won’t like. Both are unlikely.
5. Is depression in minorities normal due to the hardships and racism they often face?
Depression among minorities is not normal, but minorities may be at higher risk, given the many challenges they may face in life, including racism, discrimination, violence, and poverty, to name a few. Each of these conditions negatively affects both physical and mental health, placing minorities at risk for mental disorders, such as depression.
6. Can children get depressed?
We’d like to believe that all children experience a happy, carefree childhood, but that’s simply not the case. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, studies show that one in 33 children and one in eight adolescents are depressed in any given year. Children are not as practiced at articulating their feelings as adults, so adults must take the initiative to look for and notice symptoms of depression in children.
Maria-Pamela Janairo of the Disparities Solutions Center assisted in the preparation of these responses.
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Joseph R. Betancourt, M.D.
Director of the Disparities Solutions Center, Massachusetts General Hospital
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