No one cause has been identified that would explain the greater prevalence of depression among women. All of the factors mentioned above undoubtedly play a role, and there are probably others as well. Loss Although the rate of depres-sion is higher in women than in men, women often have more and better ways of coping with it than men do. Women tend to take better care of themselves and use medical services more frequently than men. This increases the chances that women will turn to a health care provider for treatment if symptoms of depression become problematic.
Women are also better than men at making and maintaining connections with others.
Such connections are invaluable. Thus, many women have successfully coped with stressful life events, sadness, and even depression because they were able to draw on the support offered by their social network. We frequently see men who had defined themselves primarily as breadwinners become seriously depressed after retirement, when they no longer have this defined role to play. On the other hand, their wives, whether they had full time careers or were traditional housewives, continue in their roles as kin keepers, caregivers, friends, et cetera, and do not define themselves in this narrow way. In other words, the fuller your life is, the more options you will have when life's changes prevent you from continuing on as before.