Women and Depression Depression and Eating Disorders ... The Link
Women and depression and eating disorders ... wow, don't those three seem to fit together like a glove (or at least that's how many people seem to view it)? We know that women suffer from eating disorders nearly 10:1. And women suffer from depression at twice the rate men do. So while I don't mean to neglect men and eating disorders or men who suffer from depression, depression statistics and eating disorder statistics support the fact that more women suffer from clinical depression and eating disorders.
Which comes first? The depression or the eating disorder
As I've said before when talking about mental health and the cause of eating disorders, it's hard to tell which comes first - the mental health issue or the eating disorder. Unless there were clear depression warning signs before the eating disorder, often it is the eating disorder that brings the depression symptoms to light. That's not to say the depression wasn't there before the eating disroder, it's just that it wasn't obvious until the eating disorder shed some light.
Eating disorder symptoms include extreme dissatisfaction with body image. There is also the element of perfectionism. If you're constantly trying to be perfect, and you're constantly unhappy with your body and you're always seeking that ideal body image, then it makes sense that you could become depressed.
Women and Depression - What is Depression?
Depression is when you feel down in the dumps. A sadness comes over you and you just can't pull yourself out of it. It's like a dark cloud has come over you and you can't seem to get out from under it. You lose interest in things you used to enjoy. You have difficulty doing the things you need to do. And for women - especially mothers - this can lead to feelings of guilt and shame.
Depression and Eating Disorders
There is a strong link between depression and eating disorders, especially when you think about it in terms of a distorted body image and constantly trying to be perfect.
Statistically, according to NIMH, up to 75% of women with eating disorders also have depression or anxiety. And according to a Swiss study of women and depression, women who binge and purge are more likely than those who don't binge and purge to have attempted suicide at some earlier point in their life. Women with anorexia are more likely to be suicidal than other women with eating disorders.
In the Swiss study of 288 women with eating disorders, researchers found that 26% had attempted suicide at least once. This is four times more than women in the general population. Approximately 26% were currently suicidal.
