The Treatment of Depression: Electroconvulsive Therapy with an Emphasis on Women

People today are becoming more and more depressed, and to cope with this, institutions of health are developing more and more treatments for depression, one of main concern being electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT. I question the necessity of such treatments and the need to "cure" everything. There is such an unnecessary emphasis placed on what is and what is not "normal." Psychiatric efforts of today, although somewhat helpful in various cases, need to be improved.

Research has demonstrated that while both men and women have similar peak ages of hazard rates for major depression, the prevalence of symptoms are much higher for females than for males. At ages of approximately 15 and 25, both men and women experience peaks in major depression, however the female data is twice that of the male data. Whereas the male line experiences its highest peak at age 35 and then continues down throughout approximately age 50, the female line plateaus from ages 35 - 45 and then peaks again at age 50 (Parker, 465).

Women are two times more likely to be diagnosed as having suffered from depression than are men. Some people attribute this fact to the thought that women are more open in admitting that they are depressed and likewise that women are more apt than men to acknowledge that they are depressed (Parker, 461).

The instances of early depression occur at times in which estrogen levels for women begin to rise, thus accounting for the difference in hazard rates for the sexes. Estrogen levels are not only higher during the ages of adolescence and puberty, but also during pregnancy and menopause.

In her study "Depression and Law Violation: Gendered Responses to Gendered Stresses," Stacy De Coster finds that different types of stresses, vulnerability to these stresses, and expressions of these vulnerabilities to the stresses differ for males and females.

Men are more likely to be exposed to stress through criminal victimization, are more vulnerable to stresses of this sort, and respond to stresses through law violations. Women, on the other hand, are exposed to familial stresses, are more vulnerable to peer stresses, and deal with these stresses through depression (De Coster, 170). De Coster reasons as a possibility for these differences the fact that people are apt to abide by the personality stereotypes society defines for them.

Society views women as being fragile -- not only physically but also mentally. These negative views of women are largely accepted to the extent that women begin to believe they really are inferior to men. Psychologically, these attitudes tear women down.

Although the risk of depression in women is readily apparent, the availability of treatment is low. First of all, many women do not even know that the symptoms which they experience are, in fact, signs of depression. Secondly, even if women did know about their condition, odds of them being able to afford the expensive treatments are low.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been a topic of great controversy ever since its development. ECT treatments are proven to be so affective because they are essentially creating memory loss. The electricity sent into the brain causes enough damage to destroy memory cells, and henceforth, patients are unable to remember why they were depressed in the first place (Null, 3).

Early ECT treatments affected the entire body of the patients so much so that their bodies would physical thrash. In modern times, measures have been taken to further develop ECT techniques to a point where the effects are restricted to the mind.

Despite the controversies with ECT, some psychiatrists still uphold that the treatments help their patients immensely. Though they support the treatment, many psychiatrists also recognize that the effects of the treatments are not in the long-term, admitting that many patients soon return to their depression. In addition, many doctors agree that there is no evidence that eliminates patients from the dangers of regular shock treatments.

Women need more than just shock treatment or medicine - they need support. In many cases, women aren't even able to obtain the treatment that might help them. Having health insurance doesn't necessarily help, as most programs do not cover treatment for depression.

In conclusion, the treatment for depression in women is in a sad state. Psychiatric efforts to correct depression in women are not helping them in the long run - women need to learn that feelings of depression are not inherent guides that they are "crazy." But when there is an actual illness, the treatment must be from a supportive environment, and not one based on a patriarchal institution such as electroconvulsive therapy.

Works Cited

De Coster, Stacy. "Depression and Law Violation: Gendered Responses to Gendered Stresses." Sociological Perspectives. November 2, 2005. Vol. 48, Issue 2, pp. 155-187.

Null, Gary. "The Hidden Side of Psychiatry." Say No to Psychiatry. 01 Nov. 2005 .

Parker, G. and D. Hadzi-Pavlovic. "Is the female preponderance in major depression secondary to a gender difference in specific anxiety disorders?" Psychological Medicine. 2004, 34, pp. 461-470.