Women’s experiences of depression in rural NSW

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the lived experiences of women living in rural NSW with depression, their beliefs about its causes, their treatment, and ways in which they sought to recover. Method: As the basis of a qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 women who identified as living with depression. Data were collected and analysed from 2011 to 2013 and were coded using thematic data analysis. Results: Women had a multiplicity of points of view on living with depression, its causes, and on the assistance and support they required. A large number of participants described adverse life experiences, including adverse childhood experiences. Many women demonstrated an internal understanding of the interconnectedness of their various adverse life experiences and their depression (loss, childhood abuse, violence). Despite most of these women also suffering from low self-worth, few attributed their self-processes either to their adverse childhood experiences or to their experience of depression. Taking a feminist perspective, this paper discusses the women’s understandings and explanations of depression, issues of adverse childhood experiences and grief and loss, and the ways in which the women sought help and support. Discussion: The flow-on effects of negative life experiences are known to be contributing factors in depression, and the women themselves identified them as causal. However, these factors appeared to be muted in diagnosis and treatment owing to the biomedical focus of Australia’s preferred depression treatment strategy.