Jun 15, 2023
Attention women! If you have been experiencing prolonged depression, anxiety, or mental discomfort, we want to tell you that you are not alone! Recognizing your mental health problems and taking the first brave step towards long-term recovery instead of suffering in silence is highly commendable!
If you wonder why women need mental health attention, you’ve come to the right place! Today, women's mental health problems are frequently disregarded or not taken seriously. Although women are more likely than men to suffer from severe mental illness, they are often overlooked in psychiatric research, receive less effective treatment through prescribed medications, and face prejudice and stigma from medical professionals who diagnose and manage their care. It is important to have an open discussion about what is mental health and change the stigma surrounding it.
While hormones alone cannot explain depression, women's mental health concerns are often disregarded as solely hormonal. In addition, social isolation and relationship challenges are common problems for women with severe mental illness, apart from other institutional obstacles. In this blog, we aim to shed light on the lack of attention on women’s mental health issues so that we can collectively foster a more inclusive society.
How does mental health differ in genders?
Women are more prone to mental health problems than men for various reasons, including hormonal imbalances, chronic stressors such as financial struggles and household responsibilities, physical conditions such as pregnancy-related depression or postpartum depression, body shaming, negative self-image, and unattainable beauty standards. These variables can damage a woman's mental health and lead to anxiety disorders, sadness, and eating disorders, or even suicidal thoughts if left untreated.
Mental health problems are typically the result of a mix of genetics and the person's societal functions & life experiences. People belonging to different genders have vastly varied experiences. The interaction of genetics with life experiences can also significantly impact how mental health disorders develop.
Regarding mental illnesses in women, the symptoms of serious mental illness and the appropriate treatment with psychiatric medications can differ based on their hormonal changes, age, and whether or not they have a menstrual cycle.
For women who experience a menstrual cycle, it is common for their mood and symptoms of depression to change as their hormone levels rise and fall during the month. This fluctuation is crucial for healthcare providers to be aware of when evaluating a patient's symptoms.
On the other hand, during menopause, women may metabolize psychiatric drugs differently due to changes in their hormone levels, specifically a decrease in estrogen. This can result in the drug being metabolized either faster or slower than intended.
Some shocking women mental health statistics
Let us now delve into some women's mental health statistics better to understand the complete picture regarding women’s mental health. Women's mental health problems are on a meteoric rise.
A Common Mental Disorder (such as anxiety or depression) affects one in every five women (19%) compared to one in every eight (12%) men. Moreover, women living in poverty are more inclined to have poor mental health conditions, with 29% suffering a common mental health issue compared to 16% of non-poor women.
Age is no bar for women to experience mental health problems. This fact is evidenced by research that suggests 75% of mental health disorders begin before 24, and young women have emerged as the most vulnerable category for mental illness. A Common Mental Disorder, such as anxiety or depression, affects 26% of young women, about three times more than young men. The same study says that PTSD affects 1 in every seven young women (16-24), compared to 3.6% of young males.
Women’s ethnic background can also influence their mental health. For example, Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic women suffer extra inequities and difficulties in their mental health, such as racism and stigma. They are more likely to have anxiety and depression, affecting 24% of Asian women, 29% of Black women, and 29% of mixed-race women.
Understanding the historical stigma around women’s “hysteria”
Traditional gender norms and social perceptions have historically collaborated to present an odd and restrictive picture of women's mental health where women's mental health was not taken seriously. People in ancient Greece and Egypt thought that if women's wombs were not constantly occupied with intercourse or impregnation, they would move to other areas of the body, creating many mental health issues. This hypothesis eventually led to using "hysteria" as a catch-all diagnostic term for women's psychological and physical health problems.
Later, throughout the Middle Ages, hysteria grew entwined with supernatural beliefs and witchcraft. Women with hysterical symptoms were frequently accused of being witches or possessed by evil spirits. Exorcism or other religious rites were frequently used to alleviate the symptoms linked to supernatural powers.
Finally, women’s mental health understanding saw significant breakthroughs with the turn of the nineteenth century. The nineteenth century saw a dramatic development in the knowledge of so-called “hysteria”. The medical community began to regard it as a physical and psychological condition rather than a supernatural occurrence. Influential doctors like Jean-Martin Charcot and Sigmund Freud were instrumental in establishing this new perspective.
However, even after renewed understanding of women’s mental health conditions, women were excluded or underrepresented in several clinical studies of psychiatric medications that claimed to end institutionalized discrimination in the 1970s and 1980s. The exclusion of women from these studies has made prescribing the correct doses for such drugs more difficult, putting them at a higher risk for adverse reactions and delaying medical professionals' recognition of how psychiatric drugs may interact with medications prescribed to female patients for additional medical conditions.
What are some factors uniquely influencing women’s mental health?
Women may develop mental health difficulties for various causes unique to their biological attributes. It should be noted that these elements might combine with psychological, social, and environmental factors to lead to mental health problems. Here are a few biological factors unique to women:
- Hormonal variations: Hormonal fluctuations can impact a woman's mental health throughout her life. For example, estrogen and progesterone levels changes during the menstrual cycle might lead to premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms such as mood swings, irritability, and anxiety. Furthermore, hormonal changes during pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause might influence mood and mental health. Pregnancy and delivery can cause significant physical and hormonal changes and emotional changes, which can raise the risk of mental health problems such as perinatal depression.
- Hereditary predisposition: Evidence suggests that mental health issues have a hereditary component, and particular genetic variables may be more frequent or pronounced in women. Specific genetic variants, for example, have been linked to an increased chance of developing diseases such as depression, anxiety, and eating disorders, which are more common in women.
- Autoimmune diseases: Women are more likely than males to have autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis. These disorders have been linked to an elevated risk of mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. Autoimmune illnesses can cause mental health issues due to the dysregulation of the immune system and ongoing inflammation.
- Thyroid issues: Thyroid diseases, particularly hypothyroidism, are more frequent in women and can have an influence on mental health. Low thyroid hormone levels can cause weariness, sadness, and cognitive impairments.
While these biological characteristics could boost the vulnerability of women to mental health disorders, they do not entirely influence them. The interaction among psychology, biology, and the environment is complicated, and holistic approaches to mental healthcare consider all of these elements to give adequate assistance and mental health therapy.
How do women experience stigma during treatment?
Many women have absorbed the negative perceptions surrounding their healthcare experiences. Some even believe their gender does not impact the quality of care they receive. However, upon closer examination of their experiences, it becomes evident that being a woman affects how they are treated.
The gender bias women experience can result in a delayed diagnosis of a serious mental illness and, consequently, a longer path to treatment. It is essential to consider that mental illnesses may manifest differently in women than in men, which could lead to misdiagnosis. For instance, research indicates that 75% of women with bipolar disorder experience their first episode of depression, while in men, this number is 68%.
Consequently, clinicians may unknowingly diagnose women with depression instead of bipolar disorder, which could significantly impact their treatment plan. Therefore, healthcare professionals must know these gender-based differences to ensure accurate diagnoses and appropriate treatment.
What can we do to make mental healthcare more inclusive for women?
Improving social assistance for women and their families (especially children) suffering from severe mental illnesses should be improved. Additional residential care programs that accommodate mothers and their children are needed, allowing women to continue caring for their children through mental health therapy rather than putting them with Child Protective Services or a relative. Some other steps that can be taken are:
- Intersectional perspective: Recognize and address the intersectionality of women's identities, including race, socioeconomic class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disability. Mental healthcare should address how various types of prejudice or inequality might affect a woman's mental health, and treatment techniques should be inclusive and egalitarian.
- Education and empowerment: Increase women's mental health awareness by offering accurate information about mental health, frequent issues, and relevant services. Encourage self-care practices, provide tools for self-evaluation, and promote self-advocacy to empower women to take an active part in their mental healthcare.
- Gender-sensitive teaching: Healthcare providers should undergo counseling that especially addresses women's unique mental health needs. This training should address themes such as gender-specific symptoms, the influence of social issues on women's mental health, and techniques for delivering gender-sensitive care.
- Foster supportive peer networks and community involvement: Create chances for women to participate in supportive networks and community engagement. Assistance groups, community-based programs, and peer-led initiatives that establish safe spaces for women to discuss mental health, share stories, and seek assistance are examples of this.
- Accessibility and affordability: Make mental healthcare services more accessible and affordable to women. This may be accomplished through improving insurance coverage, instituting sliding-scale pricing systems, increasing the number of mental health doctors, and providing mental health services in underprivileged communities.
By employing these measures, mental healthcare may become more inclusive and sensitive to the specific needs of women, resulting in improved mental health outcomes and general well-being.
Conclusion
Women deserve to prioritize their mental health and well-being. Increasing women’s mental health awareness can minimize their risk of mental health disorders, improve their physical health, relationships, and career, and help them live more fulfilling lives.
We can address the unique issues women experience in accessing quality mental healthcare by increasing awareness and working to eliminate the stigma and hurdles preventing them from seeking treatment. Recognizing the interconnectedness of women's identities and experiences is critical in delivering culturally responsive mental healthcare. Furthermore, recognizing the biological aspects unique to women, such as hormone swings and reproductive events, enables targeted therapies and support provided by a professional women's mental health therapist.
We can enhance women's mental health outcomes by several leaps by encouraging mental health literacy, enabling women to take an active part in their mental healthcare, and offering accessible and affordable treatments.
(CTA) Remember that seeking help, practicing self-care, finding mental health treatment options, and building a support system are crucial steps toward better mental health. So don't hesitate to reach out, take care of yourself, and know you're not alone. Contact Lifebulb’s dedicated counselors today to start your self-care journey.
