Anxiety & Depression
Treatment for Women

The clinical threshold is duration and function. Depression involves persistent low mood or loss of interest and pleasure, present most of the day nearly every day for at least two weeks, together with changes in sleep, appetite, energy, concentration or self-worth, and it represents a change from how you normally are. A difficult phase lifts when the circumstance changes. Depression does not lift when the circumstance improves, which is often the clearest sign.

Yes, and they are genuinely physical rather than imagined. Palpitations, chest tightness, breathlessness, trembling, sweating, nausea, dizziness and muscle pain are produced by a stress response activating when there is no threat. Many women are investigated for cardiac or thyroid problems first. Those investigations are worth doing, because thyroid dysfunction, anaemia and vitamin B12 or D deficiency all mimic anxiety and depression and are common in Indian women.

India's National Mental Health Survey of 2015 to 2016 found a 12 month prevalence of 3.41 per cent for anxiety disorders, and reported that roughly one in twenty Indians has experienced depression. Women showed higher rates of both mood and anxiety disorders than men. The survey also found a treatment gap of over 80 per cent for common mental disorders, meaning most people who need care never receive any.

For mild to moderate depression and for many anxiety disorders, psychological treatment alone is often sufficient. For moderate to severe depression, the combination of therapy and antidepressant medication generally works better than either alone. Medication is prescribed and monitored by a psychiatrist, not by a counsellor, and we coordinate that referral. It is never a substitute for the psychological work.

Antidepressants are not addictive in the way sedatives or sleeping tablets are. They do not produce craving or a high, and taking them does not mean you will need them for life. They typically take two to four weeks to work. Stopping suddenly can cause discontinuation symptoms, so any change to the dose or ending treatment should be planned with the prescribing psychiatrist rather than done alone.

Yes. Brief low mood in the first days after birth is common and usually settles within two weeks. Postnatal depression persists beyond that and involves low mood, anxiety, guilt, difficulty bonding with the baby and often intrusive frightening thoughts. A meta-analysis of Indian studies puts postpartum depression at roughly 22 per cent of mothers. It is treatable, it is not a reflection of your love for your child, and it should not be waited out.

Hormonal transitions are established periods of increased vulnerability. Women with no previous history of depression are substantially more likely to experience a depressive episode during the menopausal transition. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder produces severe mood disturbance in the days before menstruation and is associated with markedly elevated rates of suicidal thinking. Both are recognised clinical conditions and both respond to treatment.

Most women do not need residential care. Online counselling is available across India and is appropriate for mild to moderate depression and most anxiety disorders. Residential care is indicated where symptoms are severe, where outpatient treatment has not held, where exhaustion is total, or where home life leaves no space in which to be unwell.

Nothing is disclosed to a spouse, parent or any other person without your explicit consent. We will speak to family members about the condition in general terms if you wish, but we will not confirm whether you are our client or share information about you. The only limit is the one any responsible clinician holds, where there is serious risk to life.

Structured psychological treatment for depression or an anxiety disorder typically runs across several months of weekly sessions, though many women notice meaningful change earlier than that. Physical symptoms such as sleep and appetite usually improve before mood does. Where medication is involved, it generally takes two to four weeks to take effect and is continued for a period after recovery to reduce the risk of relapse.

Depression does have a tendency to recur, and anxiety disorders can return under pressure. This is a reason to leave treatment with a written relapse-prevention plan rather than a reason for pessimism. Knowing your own early warning signs, protecting sleep, continuing medication where prescribed and having one person you can contact make recurrence both less likely and far easier to manage when it happens.

Name what you have noticed without diagnosing it, take something practical off her list, and offer to help her find support including going with her to a first appointment. Avoid telling her to think positively, or that others have it worse, or framing it as ingratitude, all of which add guilt to the illness. Do not wait for her to ask, because depression removes exactly the initiative required to ask. If there is any risk to her life, contact Tele MANAS on 14416 or take her to the nearest hospital.