Women 40 Percent More Likely To Develop Mental Illness Than Men

[The Straight Story]

ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) – There is a gender gap for mental illness, with females being up to 40 percent more likely to develop some type of mental health condition than their male counterparts.

A new study to be published by Oxford University Press finds that women are nearly 75 percent more likely than men to have suffered from depression, and approximately 60 percent more likely to report an anxiety disorder.

The U.K. study was led by Dr. Daniel Freeman, who said his latest research set to appear in the book, “The Stressed Sex: Uncovering the Truth about Men, Women and Mental Health,” sets out to answer a simple but crucial question: are rates of psychological disorder different between men and women?

“This important issue has been largely ignored in all the debates raging about gender differences,” Dr. Freeman stated on his website.

http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2013/05/23/study-women-40-percent-more-likely-to-develop-mental-illness-than-men/

[hobbit709]

1. Probably because they have to put up with a male dominated world.

[SharonAnn]

12. Yes, powerlessness can lead to depression. When you realize that you're at the mercy

of the powerful, and that nothing you do will change that, it can lead to depression.

[geek tragedy]

2. Of course, what gets defined as a mental illness

and what doesn't is itself far short of scientific.

[proverbialwisdom]

29. Good read.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/05/21/the-green-shadow-cabinet-and-a-mental-health-declaration-of-independence/

[bettyellen]

3. "men have externalising problem....snip.... such as alcohol and anger problems.”

Interesting!

[Buzz Clik]

4. must ... resist ... urge ... snarky .... comment

[greytdemocrat]

28. I know...

This is just begging for it.

[leftstreet]

5. Meh. It's about 'reporting' disorders. Seeking treatment, etc

Dumb article. If it had to be written at all....it should have stated 'women more likely than men' to report problems and/or seek treatment.

[HappyMe]

8. Good point.

Probably true for any health issues.

[Nancy Waterman]

13. Exactly!

Women are more likely to seek treatment. Men, not so much. Fear it isn't "manly."

[raccoon]

17. They're more likely to have alcohol and anger problems. nt

[siligut]

16. Or, Women 40 Percent More Likely To "Be Diagnosed With" Mental Illness Than Men

But then that brings up the question of gender bias in defining what constitutes a mental disorder.

True, dumb article, but it was probably written more to influence than inform.

[dog_lovin_dem]

33. Absolutely.

Women report ALL health issues at a higher rate than men do, be it a physical or emotional issue.
Men are socialized to be "strong", though imho, it takes strength to admit one has a problem, no matter what your gender.

[redqueen]

6. Gee, why on earth would women be 75% more likely to suffer from depression...

[Cirque du So-What]

7. I once visited a friend

who had checked himself into the mental ward of a hospital for a 72-hour tune-up on the medication he was taking for depression. In the visiting room, I noticed that all the other patients were female, so I asked him about it, and he confirmed that he was the only male in the entire ward. From that, I surmised that it had something to do with males being less likely to admit they may have a problem and then to seek help for it.

[librechik]

9. Women are Crazy because Men are Assholes.

https://www.facebook.com/womenarecrazy

[undeterred]

15. Well, that's probably one of the reasons.

[marions ghost]

10. Interesting --likely some gender factors

involved, though I don't doubt male depression is under-reported.

Women take on more of the emotional burden of a group usually. Men don't send sympathy cards. Women tend to blame themselves, men blame others (maybe having to do with the fact that women deduce from childhood on that they are inferior, while men are taught they are superior--just a theory).

------------
Women may report depression more, but men more often act to end it all. Men commit suicide more, especially in bad economic times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/health/suicide-rate-rises-sharply-in-us.html?_r=0

In 2010 there were 33,687 deaths from motor vehicle crashes and 38,364 suicides.

Suicide has typically been viewed as a problem of teenagers and the elderly, and the surge in suicide rates among middle-aged Americans is surprising.

From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent, to 17.6 deaths per 100,000 people, up from 13.7. Although suicide rates are growing among both middle-aged men and women, far more men take their own lives. The suicide rate for middle-aged men was 27.3 deaths per 100,000, while for women it was 8.1 deaths per 100,000.

[ismnotwasm]

11. LOL

While if this was even close to being true, it makes me think men are under-diagnosed and under-treated, rather than being less troubled than women----all I can think of right now is the great George Carlin (with apologies for all the smart men, and sane women both in life and around the world)



And since I suspect this thread won't end well, I will now put it away.

[bunnies]

20. Carlin had a way of summing things up in just the right way...

didnt he? Im SO stealing that pic.

[Ilsa]

14. Women are more likely to be traumatized by

rape, violence, cognitive dissonance when they can't live up to super-moralized purity expectations, being stressed from quadruple-duty as employees, mothers, wives, and housekeepers. We worry about poverty in our old age because we make less than men.

So, yes, we have a lot to be anxious or depressed about.

[siligut]

18. More Soviet psychiatry?

Crazy people have no power. Get rid of females and minorities and the RW can coast into office.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

19. "Develop" or "Be diagnosed with"?

More diagnosis does not necessarily mean more mental illness.

[etherealtruth]

21. Exactly! n/t

[proverbialwisdom]

31. Check it out, although it doesn't sound plausible and the stats are nonspecific.

http://blog.nj.com/njv_guest_blog/2013/04/getting_your_medical_diagnosis.html

Getting your medical diagnosis right: Opinion
4/13/13
ByEvan Falchuk

...According to published studies, anywhere from 15 to 28 percent of patients are getting the wrong diagnoses.

<>

[etherealtruth]

32. Thanks

I have no doubt that folk are misdiagnosed all the time.

[winter is coming]

23. +1. If you're a woman and the doctors can't figure out what's wrong with you,

it's not that unusual to be diagnosed with depression. The unspoken attitude seems to be, "I can't figure it out, so it's probably not real, so you're probably depressed. Take these pills and go away."

[Donald Ian Rankin]

24. I do not think that is accurate.

I very much doubt that the thought processes of doctors even remotely resemble that more than very occasionally.

[winter is coming]

26. That's probably not the overt thought process, but the outward result is the same.

Unless all of your female friends are fairly young, I expect if you spoke to several of them, it would not take you long to find one who's had this experience... sometimes going from doctor to doctor for several months, or even years, reporting that they feel unwell and being told they're "normal" but perhaps some antidepressants would be helpful? Only to eventually discover that they have something not easily diagnosed in its early stages, and not depression.

[nolabear]

25. Lord I hate studies like this. SO simplistic and poorly conveyed.

"Mental illness" is a catch-all and about as useful as "physical illness" when describing cancer, athlete's foot and fibroids. It's not worth arguing.

[MadrasT]

27. I don't buy it.

I think men are less likely to seek treatment. And that is a tragedy.

[LittleBlue]

30. I've read it's the way their brains are wired

The part of their brain that perceives emotions is larger than men, so they are more likely to be depressed and feel it with a higher intensity. Plus I think they blame and criticize themselves more often than men, and are more likely to have self esteem problems.

[BainsBane]

34. This is well-known

The numbers are higher because major (uni-polar) depression is the most common mental illness, and it occurs far more frequently in women than men. There is a higher incidence of schizophrenia in men and possibly bi-polar depression as well. I'm guessing that more women develop Borderline Personality Disorder, which is always very common, increasingly so as psychiatrists are more likely to diagnose it now.

[BainsBane]

35. Poverty--if people are looking for a cause

Rates of poverty are much higher among women, and poverty is the kind of environmental stressor that triggers illnesses like depression. Depression also makes it harder for women to move out of poverty.

[olddots]

36. this is a study

again this a study to be published by Oxford Press .........a study ...... a study

[Marrah_G]

37. We also often have a hell of a lot more stress n/t