{"id":7558,"date":"2018-06-15T14:00:31","date_gmt":"2018-06-15T21:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.everywomanover29.com\/blog\/?p=7558"},"modified":"2018-06-17T21:26:18","modified_gmt":"2018-06-18T04:26:18","slug":"kate-spade-suicide-hormonal-imbalance-antidepressants-as-a-trigger-and-the-stigma-of-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everywomanover29.com\/blog\/kate-spade-suicide-hormonal-imbalance-antidepressants-as-a-trigger-and-the-stigma-of-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Kate Spade: suicide, hormonal imbalance, antidepressants as a trigger and the stigma of mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Paul Keleher (originally posted to Flickr as kate spade) [CC BY 2.0<\/a>], via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>Kate Spade, a well-known American fashion icon and handbag designer, died by suicide last week at the age of 55. I’m always torn in situations like this…just share the news story with my sympathies in order to respect the family or use this as an opportunity to learn from and prevent others from suffering the same fate. This time I’m doing the latter – with the risk of appearing insensitive – because there are red flags here and I feel so strongly that we all need to learn from this in order to move mental health forward. I\u2019m hoping her husband and family would approve.<\/p>\n

In the announcement about Kate Spade\u2019s suicide in the New York Times<\/a>, Mr. Spade said:<\/p>\n

that though his wife had suffered from anxiety at points during their relationship and marriage, her serious bouts of depression only began about six years ago, at the age of 49.<\/p>\n

Kate suffered from depression and anxiety for many years. She was actively seeking help and working closely with her doctors to treat her disease, one that takes far too many lives. We were in touch with her the night before and she sounded happy. There was no indication and no warning that she would do this. It was a complete shock. And it clearly wasn\u2019t her. There were personal demons she was battling.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

My heart goes out to Kate Spade\u2019s husband, young daughter and loved ones. Her suicide is just so sad but as I said I have a fair bit to say about this….<\/p>\n

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Hormone imbalance triggering anxiety and depression?<\/h3>\n

According to the reports, Kate\u2019s \u201cserious bouts of depression only began about six years ago, at the age of 49, but she had suffered \u201cfrom depression and anxiety for many years\u201d.<\/p>\n

Perimenopause and menopause is a classic time for women to experience worsening anxiety and depression and can be driven by fluctuating hormones, especially low estrogen. In this study, Depression and the menopause: why antidepressants are not enough?<\/u><\/a> the authors share that<\/p>\n

Postmenopausal\u00a0depression\u00a0is more severe, has a more insidious course, is more resistant to conventional antidepressants in comparison with premenopausal women and has better outcomes when antidepressants are combined with HT (hormone therapy).<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Addressing hormone imbalance as one possible root cause can eliminate the anxiety and depression. Some of my favorite resources for hormone balance are these books: The Hormone Secret<\/em><\/a> and\u00a0Cooking for Hormone Balance<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Low levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin, catecholamines and GABA?<\/h3>\n

Directly connected to hormonal imbalance is brain chemistry imbalance. Addressing low levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin, the catecholamines and GABA provide results quickly when they are used in a targeted way based on individual needs:<\/p>\n