This was written by a man so keep that in mind!

Empty nests. Menopause. Midlife crisis. Those are some of the reasons midlife is supposed to cause depression in women.

But as with so much information about midlife, that is at best only part of the story.

While depression is more common in women than men, recent research emphasizes what academics -- but not the general public -- have known for years: for most women, midlife is a positive time in their lives. Depression is more common in younger women, and for most, menopause and children leaving home are not psychologically traumatic.

"Predicting First Depressive Episodes in Middle-Aged Women," a study just presented at the 2007 American Psychological Association annual meeting, tracked 42 to 52 year old women for ten years. The researchers found that many factors were tied to midlife depression in women. A primary one was stressful life events such as loss of work, a death of a spouse or someone close, divorce, and the like. Health problems and a history of anxiety were also tied to episodes of depression. Menopause was one factor of many.

This ties to other recent studies that led the U.S. Surgeon General to conclude that "Menopause ... has little bearing on gender differences in depression. Contrary to popular beliefs, menopause does not appear to be associated with increased rates of depression in women ... menopause by itself is not a risk factor for depression."

In fact, an early 1990 study in Pittsburgh concluded that "natural menopause is a benign event for the majority of middle-aged healthy women." A later study in Boston and a large nationwide survey backed up that conclusion.

What about those women who do get thrown for a loop by the onset of menopause? The Boston and Pittsburgh studies indicate that it may be a matter of predisposition: if you expect menopause to be bad, it will be. Compared to women who had a neutral or positive attitude toward menopause before going through it, women who had a negative view were far more likely to report the experience left them depressed, irritable, and bothered by hot flashes or insomnia.

That expectation may be linked to other psychological factors. Women's health site DrDonnica,com says "Menopause is a risk factor for depression in certain women: women who have had a previous history of depression (including postpartum depression), women with any other psychiatric illness, women with a family history of menopausal depression, and women with a history of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD, otherwise known as “PMS”)."

This is remarkably similar to most people's experience with midlife crisis: for many, it doesn't exist. People who do go through what they think of as a midlife crisis are often battling a crisis that happens in midlife, such as divorce. And the worst affected tend to be people with a psychological history of neuroticism or depression.

That coincides with the recognition that, for many, midlife is a good period of their lives. The incidence of depression in women is highest in the 30's. And midlife is getting better. Stephanie Kasen and Patricia Cohen of Columbia University found that depression seems to be increasing in younger women, but at the same time it's decreasing in the middle aged. That follows a long-term trend: women used to get more depressed as they aged, but now the opposite occurs.

This is further evidence that life experience, social norms, socio-economic status, stress, and other non-genetic factors play a large role in triggering depression. The good news for middle-aged women is that these forces, in some combination, are trending their way and reducing their risk for midlife depression.

It's also good news that attitude and expectations can help prevent depression. If you want to avoid feeling depressed at menopause, or when the kids head off to college -- make yourself expect that it won't!

Does this article not anger anyone?

Dear 'Snowmoon56'

Thank you so much for sharing this article with us and yes it angers and hurts me very badly

I had no expectations of Menopause,good,bad or indifferent.I have had my share of traumas.Haven't we all?But nothing could prepare me for the psychological and physical mess that I was when hit with early onset Menopause.It turned my world upside down.

And reading The Posts of all the wonderful ladies on this Forum,many of us were literally'Knocked for Six'We do not need studies by pompous men to tell us that some of us are predisposed to depression etc.during mid-life.We all know how we feel,the struggles we endure and the medications we have had to use to live some semblance of normalacy.

No man ,who had to endure Menopause as it has been for many of us would have kept quiet but would have insisted that the Medical World spend more time and research into Menopause.

Warm Wishes
Elizabeth

This article and others like it totally tick me off! (To put it mildly; I would much rather use stronger words!!!) I am so sick of being told that this is all in my head and that somehow because I am not "open" to menopause I am causing myself all of this anxiety and depression. It will be interesting to see how many of us respond to this thread!!!

i wasn't even thinking anything about menopause when all of this hit me. i was still stupid enough to think that menopause happens in your 50s with a few hot flashes & then you're done.

curious about the study parameters & sample sizes.

while i do have a history of pms, as well as mood issues, so many women here have had no prior problems with mood disorders, coped well with life issues & then suddenly have the rug yanked out from under them. too bad they have such bad attitudes & coping mechanisms...

i'll tell you what this isn't a result of - my scary expectations, my bad attitude (ok - it is bad now), my feng shui, my lack of discipline, the energy flowing too quickly out of my fingers, my imagination, my 'fill in the blank type of mood disorder', my personality, my energy being too stuffed up, my diet, my work (or now lack of it), my inability to pull myself up by my bootstraps, & hundreds of other things seriously told to me about all of this. (i did not make up any of that.)

this has been like walking blithely along as the ground slowly starts to crumble underneath while simultaneously being hit at in the head by unidentifiable flying objects at high speed.

& did i mention that i'm ANGRY??????!!!!!!!

It doesn't anger me. I don't think the report is fully acurate but I don't believe that menopause is an indicator of depression either. I believe loss of hormones can cause depression and often does. I believe it causes anxiety, weight gain, hot flashes, irratibility, rage and misery and a host of other ailments but I don't think it's a forgone conclusion that it will cause all or any of these.

Depression wasn't one of my symptoms and although I've had plenty of other symptoms, I would still say that I'm happier in midlife than I was in my younger years. I'm happier being in my own skin even though I feel like my body is falling apart. sounds contradictory but I like myself better. I like the less inhibited me, the one who isn't so concerned with what others are thinking of me. The one who isn't trying so hard to fit in and be accepted. So while I have more physical issues to deal with, my emotional self is really more stable. Does that make sense?

I would also agree that if we expect menopause to be bad then it probably will be.. I think this statement holds true in that we give into our fears and make them a reality yet I don't think the reverse is true. If we expect things to be rosy then they will... unfortunately that isn't even usually the case.. hence so many divorces and broken relationships. It is what it is and having a good outlook will help us get through it but a positive outlook won't change it.

I would say that the article angers me, but more importantly, it does not surprise me one bit! Studies and research can be skewed to come up with the results that they indeed are looking for... That article explains why it is so very difficult for those of us suffering with peri and meno are finding it so hard to find "good" doctors who not only look at lab results but consider the patient's symptoms...

TJ

Also suffered from PMS but never depression! After my second child was born I did suffer some kind of episode. At the time we where station overseas, plus I was found to have a wrack out thyroid. I was just tired and who wouldn't be, I had 2 babies under 20 months.

My point is I never had depression or did I have mood swings like I do now. I enjoy going to movies and out to eat. I had DREAMS!

No wonder no one believes us, these studies prove we are WHAT? Trying to get attention like one doctor reference to? Worried I am losing my looks?
Yes I am stress out and maybe if I felt better I could do more. I was never a person to let grass grow under my feet.

Plus when I’m down I notice every little weird symptom frighten me. Every period is a set back now

Just don’t see bright days ahead!

I feel stuck!

It's okay SNOW (((HUGS)))... Do something simply for yourself tomorrow...make yourself do it! I know it is tough but try to find something "positive" in your day! Wishing you a better today and a better tomorrow!

TJ

Hi Snowmoon,

Yes! Those types of reports are SO DARN incomplete! From what I have read the entire body, is run by like 5 major hormones. If any of these become compromised, like too much or too little, you FEEL it. I suppose as we age, things change and hormones don't do the normal things anymore either.

I've never had a true depression, but I have experienced those "grey" days, that can go on for weeks. Then all of a sudden you have a "good" day and think OMG I'm having a good day, that is SO nice. That is what peri felt like, many endless grey days. Then you can cycle in the palps, anxiety and all the other fun stuff. I don't think it was all in my head.

Take care, Juliann

Really? I must have missed that memo!

These articles aggravate me to no end. They are men and know nothing of what it is to be a woman.

And Bella, I missed that memo too!

GRRRRR..... looking for ankles to bite!

Surely written by people who have not been "smitten" by menopause...

How nice of them to let us know there's something WRONG WITH US??? We are not the "norm?" Er, last time I looked Power-Surge had about 35,000 members...

I suppose we're imagining these hot flashes, too.

Jerks.

Now girls don't get heated>>midlife is a positive time in our life!!!!

Like what IDIOT wrote that!

How many of us have any expectations on menopause?

Heck I rarely heard the word mention! I surely never read a book on the subject!

I truly thought you just stopped having periods> I EVEN longed for the day!

You had a hot flash> stopped bleeding> and then lived in la la land!

Snowmoon: Where was this originally published? It sounds like one of those articles you find in a women's magazine that is designed to be short, catchy and totally meaningless (you know, the kind with titles like "Drink Away Those Heart Problems!" that discuss how red wine is good you.) I agree with edpd, I would like to see the study parameters...I'm wary of any articles that toss around statistics like so many juggling balls.

Wow gives me something to look forward to, 'A POSITIVE TIME IN OUR LIFE!" JUST GIVE ME THE DRUGS LOL!!!

TJ

if you expect menopause to be bad, it will be. Compared to women who had a neutral or positive attitude toward menopause before going through it, women who had a negative view were far more likely to report the experience left them depressed, irritable, and bothered by hot flashes or insomnia.

Great, this reminds me of when my mother-in-law, who never had a menstrual cramp in her life told me: (at the time, a 20 yo with 5 years of horrible cramps under her belt-no pun intended) "I think women who have cramps don't have a positive attitude about periods". Yeah, so my bad attitude woke me up at 2 in the morning with labor pain-like cramping. (btw, I love my MIL, she just isn't human)

Why do people think they have the right to make judgments about women going through menopause or having menstrual cramps if they've never experienced it themselves!!!

jem

Yes, this DOES anger me snowy! I never even THOUGHT about the upcoming "peri" time in my life .. it wasn't even on my radar .... they obviously don't really know what they're talking about! Peri hit me one day, out of the blue, and I've never been the same since ..... I didn't IMAGINE that, or need attention! I'm certainly not imagining all these pains and aches, hot flashes, nausea, and everything else! Naturally, this was written by men .... typical.

well my doctor did bring that up that yes i am hormonal during this time and may need something to help me - antidepressants, antianxiety, therapy, meditation, exercise, whatever, but that the other stressors in my life as the article stated are part of the depression...the stress of a difficult marriage, the puberty of a daughter, gaining weight and now the loss of a much loved job after 15 years. I am totally devastated. Not that i ever believed will power could just up and change an attitude, but i used to believe i would never go on antidepressants...now with me not working...I feel dead...and i feel no power to change it...I try..I try to stay busy...meet others for lunch, exercise, go to therapy, started volunteering, but my whole life unfortunately was identified with me being a teacher...yes i am a wife and mother, but that doesn't seem enough...I got so much of my appreciation outside of the home. i am not in a good place...i have never been this depressed.

Dear Ambrteach...

So sorry you are feeling like you are...please be comforted that you are not at all alone.....the last few days I have been feeling dreadfully depressed, and no matter what I do - exercise, meditate, talk positive to myself etc.,, it just isn't helping.

I was talking to my dear 83 yr old Mum yesterday about how I am feeling - though I hate to bother her with this at her age - and she thinks about what life has flung at me in my early years, and she blames herself for that....my brother was killed in an accident at age 10, when I was 7....and then she went and had another child at age 44 - a year and a half after he died - and the baby, my sister, turned out to have downs syndrome.....hence I was overlooked a lot during the rest of my childhood.

I do not blame her at all, but maybe those circumstances have caught up with me in my peri/menopause and the depression is here....or it could simply be that I got married late (37) and had my only child at 40 and found that married life has not lived up to my expectations?....who knows, but I just know that I can't seem to see a way through the dense wood right now...sometimes I see light, but it goes again once a small crisis props up.

I wish I had the answer....if I find it I'll let you know!!!

warm hugs to you.

Caz

I am another one that was lamb basted, didn't see it coming, didn't expect it!! I was caught completely off guard, and my expectations of menopause WERE positive!! And life was cruising along fairly well at the time too!! I did NOT have post partum depression, and I don't think I was mentally ill. So what the h*ll happened?? Why did menopause almost freaken kill me?? I wonder WHO they interviewed during this "study"??

They interviewed a MAN !!!


TJ

The author cites credible facts, but as usual, draws an illogical and false conclusion. The first statement, " if you expect menopause to be bad, it will be", may statistically be true, but this is an association NOT a cause - effect. It means the two things go together, maybe both caused by a THIRD thing left unmentioned. He does in fact mention another thing; he says other psychological factors may be linked, such as depression.

So... depression causes a negative attitude.
Maybe depression also causes you to have bad menopause symptoms.
Therefore, a study is going to show that if you have negative expectations before menopause, then you will have bad menopause symptoms.
This is a factual connection but not proof of CAUSALITY.

It LOOKS like the bad attitude caused the bad menopause, when nothing could be further from the truth. The truth in my example is that depression caused both but if you do not include "depression" as a study parameter then it will be completely invisible, leading you to the false impression that one of your other two parameters "caused" the other.

Maybe it's all genetic; if your mother had a bad experience, then you will expect a bad experience. When you GET a bad experience, it's not you EXPECTING it that caused it, it was your GENETICS!

Therefore, the advice to just "have a good attitude" to avoid bad menopause symptoms is COMPLETELY USELESS. Even if you could control your expectations, which is doubtful.

Mine seemed like one day it just hit and I can tell you the day: November 1, 2007. But I am sure that there were many, many little "hints" at what was the come in the months/year leading up to peri. I just wasn't listening or wasn't putting two and two together.

[size="4"][/size] Well I can tell you I had absolutely no expectation of what peri-meno would b like. I entered it at age 35 and I am not 40. I don't feel like like myself and I don't even recognize myself anymore. I used to be a bubbly upbeat person, petite , and fit. I am now 40 lbs overweight anf I feel old and frumpy at 40 ! I am a control freak and this is NOt something I can control or think positively to get through. I just try to take things one day at a time. It is a freaking rollercoaster and I want OFF !


God Bless
every woman n the plant !

wendy

This part I love the most >>>>It's also good news that attitude and expectations can help prevent depression. If you want to avoid feeling depressed at menopause, or when the kids head off to college -- make yourself expect that it won't![/i]
[/quote]


Someone should pass this on to all the maker's of all the Hormonal Treatments out there.... according to this guy...theres no need for it..... I'm sure those HT people got to him before any of us.

I had depression when I was younger not diagnosed but I knew I had it.... my life wast the happiest at all times but it was I would say just average.... felt better when I got older accepted more also got scared more too LOL I really truly feel I do not have control over my emotions that would make me seem like a depressed person.... it has a mind of its own. I love being happy and that also I have no control over never know why or when but love it when I am.

The good thing about the younger people today...they are definitely much more open about all this and dont write it off to being neurotic. Just like young men going thru their hormonal changes.... wild and extremely daring.... someone should remind that guy of what he was like in his early teens

This article ***** and it angers me to the maximum. I want to know who gave men the right to know what we women go through and have the ability to tell us so!!!!!