Depression in women has become a serious public health problem and major cause of disability in both developed and developing countries. According to psychiatric literature, women present higher vulnerability to depression due to the influence of the female reproductive cycle and different phases and hormonal fluctuations they would face during their lifetime, among other factors. The contribution of social sciences is, therefore, of paramount importance for understanding and discussing the issue of female depression, as well as the very definition of the phenomenon. This study aims at characterizing the sociodemographic profile and life trajectories of women diagnosed with depression, subjects of the present research; identifying reasons why women seek health care at the time of the diagnosis of depression; uncovering the meanings attributed by such women to the experience of such diagnosis; characterizing processes of elaboration of the experience of living with depression by women themselves and analyzing the narratives of women as from biomedical and gender readings from the perspective of social sciences. The research is qualitative, having used the technique of personal accounts to collect data from the viewpoint of a thematic guide. The narratives were interpreted through discourse analysis from the viewpoint of the social sciences. The women"s discourse revealed the multidimensionality and interconnection of the symptoms of depression as well as the diversity of motives attributed to the disease, such as histories of family conflicts, domestic violence, excessive responsibility, grieving relatives and spiritual interference. Medication along with religious practice were the main strategies used by women to cope with the illness. However, the influence of concepts and gender values in mental health, as well as silence about violence and social isolation have demonstrated the importance of health services using new approaches and practices regarding the phenomenon of depression.
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