Study Finds Differences in How Men and Women Blog About Depression

A new study analyzes the difference between men's and women's blogs about depression. The study, published in the journal Issues in Mental Health Nursing, analyzed a total of 90 blogs in order to compare the attitudes of male and female bloggers towards depression and mental illness.

Researchers found that men who blog about depression on the Internet are more likely to talk about the medical basis of depression. Male bloggers tend to view depression as a disease and to focus on taking action against the problem through the use of medications like Paxil and Prozac. They are also more likely to link their depression to external world events such as natural disasters, wars, famines, and political conflicts. Additionally, male bloggers are far more likely to discuss violence and self-harm. Ultimately, men who blog about depression tend to see themselves as fundamentally isolated from others.

Women bloggers, on the other hand, are more likely to take a skeptical stance towards medicinal solutions to depression. They are also more likely to question the motives of their doctors and to explore alternative treatments such as natural supplements, homeopathic remedies or spiritual healing sessions. Women tend to put a greater focus on psychotherapy, and tend to see depression through a lens of romantic and familial relationships. They are often concerned with the potential of their illness to cause harm to those they care about or to disrupt their relationships with others.

The results of this study indicate the importance of taking into account gender differences when offering treatment for depression. This is especially pertinent give recent research showing that in many cases of mild to moderate depression, the effectiveness of medications appears to be equivalent to the placebo effect. (Men and women given sugar pills reported nearly the same level of benefit as those taking active medications).

Because the placebo effect is dependent on the patient's belief in the efficacy of the medication, the better a treatment can be tailored to the mindset of the patient, the more effective the treatment will be. In the case of gender difference and depression, this means that men may in fact receive greater benefit from treatment that is presented strictly as a medical intervention. Because women tend to be more skeptical of the strictly medical approach, women may be better served by a more eclectic approach that focuses on healing relationships as well as addressing the medical aspects of depression.