The causes of depression
This morning I was reading a Psychology Today article titled “We Still Don’t Know How Antidepressants Work,” and, while that title is telling enough that isn’t what I want to discuss here. I was struck by the utter simplicity and doltish causes of depression advocated in this article, but one in particular stood out. They said this:
“Even though depression is one of the most common conditions in the world, and we know many of the things that increase the chances of getting it (e.g., early life stress, being female, serious medical illness, grief, and loss), scientists still do not understand precisely what causes it.” (emphasis mine)[1]
Wow. What a list. So, we’re to believe that although “scientists” don’t understand what causes depression, one of the “things” that supposedly “increase[s]” a person’s chances of being depressed is “being female”? So, having XX chromosomes—as opposed to XY—somehow increases the chances of being depressed? How is this statement qualified? Certainly it is quantified—more women experience (or simply report) depression (more than men do), but is it legitimate that “being female” as a condition, increases the likelihood of depression?
Well, according to Salk and Hyde, yes—women are twice as likely to experience depression more than men starting at age 12.[2] This is a truly startling statement if true.
Now, reader, I must remind you, scientists don’t know why or how depression is caused, so everything you read from them will be laced with speculation rather than objective fact. For instance. In an article from the website Verywell Mind they say:
“Given that the peak onset of depressive disorders in women coincides with their reproductive years (between the ages of 25 to 44 years of age), hormonal risk factors may play a role.” (emphasis mine)[3]
They don’t know—they are simply guessing—and they use this same language with everything. But lets continue. This same article lists several reasons why women experience more depression than men. They are:
1. Hormonal Differences – women are slaves of hormones like estrogen and progesterone as well as differences to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and thyroid function.
2. Socialization Differences – girls are socialized to be more nurturing and sensitive to the opinions of others, and this type of socialization may cause depression.
3. Social Roles – “It has also been theorized that women who become housewives and mothers may find their roles devalued by society. Meanwhile, women who pursue a career outside the home may face discrimination and job inequality or may feel conflicts between their role as a wife and mother and their work.”
4. Societal Factors – gender inequality, poverty, earning differences, and violence are said to contribute to depression in women.
5. Coping Styles – women, over against men, use a mulling or ruminative coping style whereas men are more problem-focused in their coping with troubles. This couldn’t have anything to do with the way God has made us.
6. Stressful Life Events – women experience more stressful events than men throughout the course of their lives such as with parents and peers.
Now, no one would dispute that men and women are made difference. On a hormonal level, certainly men and women have differing hormones. This, however, cannot be used as an excuse for depression. This cannot be used as a cudgel and justification for acting however one wants, being irrational, or claiming to have some mental disorder and taking medication. The Lord has made women just how they are.
A woman must see herself as fearfully and wonderfully made; glorious just how God has designed her; unique in her purpose. It isn’t society that makes women nurturers, but the Lord. All girls come out of the womb wanting to dance, wear skirts, be pretty, play house, and be mommies with lots of babies. All of them. If they don’t do this it is because they have been conditioned away from their normal state, not the other way around.
All in all, once a woman begins to see herself as being made by God for a specific purpose and she embraces that purpose then she will discover her sadness begins to dissipate—after all, depression lingers the more we live in delusion. Women must stop comparing themselves to men; they’re not men; they can’t do what men do. Women don’t have the strength, stamina, or the ability to do what men do. Nor can men do what women do. Men don’t have the strength, stamina, or ability to do what women have been designed to do. And this lack of equality is glorious.
When a woman embraces her God-given biology, gladly submits to her father or husband, and begins fulfilling the role given her from God, she will find that depression quickly vanishes in the smoke of cultural disillusion.
[1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/denying-to-the-grave/202209/we-still-dont-know-how-antidepressants-work
[2] Salk RH, Hyde JS, Abramson LY. Gender differences in depression in representative national samples: Meta-analyses of diagnoses and symptoms. Psychol Bull. 2017;143(8):783-822. doi:10.1037/bul0000102
[3] https://www.verywellmind.com/why-is-depression-more-common-in-women-1067040