Depression Learning

What is the Hormonal Effect of Depression in Men and Women?

Almost no one could argue that men and women are wired differently. When it comes to depression symptoms, men and women experience it in their own ways. Hormones in men and women are believed to have a definite influence on male and female depression. Clinical depression is more than feeling blue, or melancholy. Major depression disorder, or more commonly called clinical depression, is a serious illness in the brain biochemistry. Many men and women don’t want to believe they might be depressed. They often believe they are just in a phase and it will pass. The trouble with this way of thinking can prolong a treatable illness.

In men, their sex hormone, testosterone, can influence their brain’s biochemistry. There is strong evidence that the decrease in testosterone causes a high incidence of depression in older men. Studies show that of men with low levels free and total testosterone are more likely to be depressed than men with testosterone levels within normal limits.

Many men age 30 and over have a significant drop in total testosterone (TT) levels. The drop in TT levels acts similarly to a switch to turn on depression symptoms similar to those of clinical depression. What is depression related to low testosterone levels characterized by? The most common symptom of hypogonadal (commonly called male menopausal) men experiencing depression is their lack of libido. Other male depression symptoms include dysphoria (unhappiness), irritability, and fatigue. Conversely, high levels of total testosterone can exacerbate an already depressed male. Males with high levels of the hormone can exhibit behavior of anger, irritability, and in some cases, rage.

Estrogen levels in females can also influence depression. As girls are going through puberty their bodies are changing very rapidly. The flood of female hormones can cause an imbalance of brain biochemistry. Women going through pregnancy also experience an increase of estrogen and other hormones related to pregnancy. Approximately 10 percent of pregnant women suffer from depression. When a woman first becomes pregnant, she has a rush of hormones coursing through her body. Hormone levels high enough to trigger changes in the female body during pregnancy are high enough to cause biochemical changes in her brain. At one time it was thought that the pregnancy hormones protected women from becoming depressed, but evidence has shown the opposite is true for some women.

After pregnancy, a few weeks after the delivery, the drop in pregnancy hormones can cause a chemical imbalance in the brain also. For some women, postpartum depression is nothing more than a light case of the “baby blues,” however, for many women postpartum depression is debilitating. Women often feel guilty for feeling depressed after giving birth. They feel something is wrong with them, because they don’t feel joy of having a new baby. Postpartum depression is totally normal. What isn’t considered normal is when women experience a sense of hatred for their babies, or an urge to hurt them. If not treated, a woman suffering from postpartum depression could develop into postpartum psychosis.

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