Hormones vs Antidepressants: Which Works Better for Menopausal Depression?
Can Hormones Treat Depression Better Than Antidepressants?
For menopausal depression, the answer is often yes. Research shows that estrogen therapy can be more effective than traditional antidepressants for treating depression that develops during perimenopause and menopause. Estrogen works by directly addressing the hormonal root cause rather than just managing symptoms, often providing faster and more comprehensive relief.
Dr. Kumar’s Take
This research challenges the standard psychiatric approach of automatically prescribing antidepressants for menopausal women. When depression is hormonally driven, treating the underlying cause with estrogen makes more biological sense than trying to override hormonal effects with psychiatric medications. Many women have struggled for years on multiple antidepressants when what they really needed was hormone replacement. This represents a fundamental shift toward treating the cause rather than just the symptoms.