Pink Walls: Depression, Ketamine, and Chronicity
WSQ: Women's Studies Quarterly March 1, 2026 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1353/wsq.2026.a989469
Summary
A personal account describes how a hysterectomy and oophorectomy at age forty-six, following an episode of painful ovarian torsion, led to intensified chronic depression due to sudden menopause. Decades later, after ketamine infusion treatments for depression, the author reflects on the surgery as an instance of iatrogenic harm, highlighting broader issues of inequities in gynecological treatment based on gender, race, and region.
Study at a glance
| Key finding | The author identifies their surgery as an experience of iatrogenic harm linked to systemic inequities in gynecological medicine. |
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Abstract
Abstract: After an episode of painful ovarian torsion, I accepted a surgeon's counsel to undergo a hysterectomy/oophorectomy at the age of forty-six. The sudden menopause this surgery brought on intensified a chronic depression. Several decades later, after undergoing ketamine infusion treatments for my depression, I recognized that surgery as an experience of iatrogenic harm, part of the chronic inequities of treatment based on gender, race, and region that are part of the history of gynecological medicine.