Advocating for Women's Mental Health
Mental health reflects differently in different sexes. Recognizing mental health in women and how it differs from men is crucial for advocacy and creating optimal treatment plans. Women have specific needs that require tailored treatment plans for success in therapy, which include disorders that are unique to women. Those disorders can include perinatal depression, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and premenopausal depression. Women are also more susceptible to develop disorders such as eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as being survivors and victims of violence and abuse. 12 million women in the United States experience symptoms of depression each year, with the most common ages ranging between 25-44. According to research, depression accounts for more than 40% of disability in women, at least 20% of women will experience rape or attempted rape at some point during their life, and women are twice as more likely to battle with anxiety compared to men. Regardless of these mental health differences, women’s mental health is often overlooked. Why is that?
This is a result of sociocultural imbalances and discrimination. Sociocultural imbalances involve societal pressures and expectations that women experience. This may look like societal implications for housework, verbal degrading, feelings of being trapped, and discouragement for change. This not only increases the likelihood of development for many of the disorders listed above, but also impacts the decision for women to seek and receive mental health treatment. Discrimination toward women occurs in many different environments, from vocational to within the household to even governmental levels.
Gender discrimination at the governmental level dates back for centuries. White women were not granted the right to vote in the United States until 1920, and black women were not granted the very same right until 1965. In 1963, women demanded to receive equal pay, but still receive less wages compared to men (white women: 83 cents to the dollar; black women: 70 cents to the dollar; Hispanic women: 65 cents to the dollar). It wasn’t until 1974 when women were allowed to have exclusive access to their own bank accounts and credit/debit cards, and marital rape became illegal only in 1993, but laws and penalties still vary by state. Each of these factors have contributed and continue to contribute to negative mental health in women.
According to traditional societal standards and expectations, women are viewed as homemakers, mothers, and caretakers, and are often delegated the majority of responsibilities in the household. For centuries, this prohibited women from expressing their voice, pursuing careers, and limited them greatly on autonomy. While great advances have been made at a societal and governmental level, women are still subject to discrimination at the hands of the very same organizations and communities. Traditional patriarchal expectations are equally as damaging to both genders. Real-life experiences speak for themselves, and no woman should be shamed into hiding or feel pressured to keep quiet about anything that they are struggling with.
Studies show that sexism and misogyny has a significant negative effect on women’s physical and mental health by increasing chances of developing multiple different mental health disorders and substance abuse. More recent studies show that gender discrimination in the workplace also increase chances for poorer mental and physical health in women compared to men. Misogyny has been proven to have an incredibly negative effect on women’s mental health. Even in the 21st century, gender discrimination denial still exists and is often presented in forms of microinvalidations, which makes awareness and reaching out for help more difficult for women, as well as contributing to harmful societal standards and expectations. Sexism is a health issue and needs to be addressed as one.
While men can look forward to stable and consistent hormones, women experience different phases that change weekly throughout each month. The phases are as listed: follicular phase, which begins on the first day of your period and ends at ovulation, during which estrogen levels rise; ovulation, which occurs roughly around the 14th day mark after the last day of your period; the luteal phase, which begins soon after ovulation and lasts until menstruation, during which the pregnancy hormone progesterone will rise; and lastly, the menses phase, which marks the beginning of your period. Throughout each of these weeks, the hormone levels in women increase and decrease rapidly, which can greatly influence mental health symptoms and side effects of psychiatric medications. Diagnoses of hormone related disorders such as Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and Endometriosis can negatively impact mental health in women. Lack of education and awareness of these ups and downs and influences from hormone related disorders limits women’s ability to self-advocate and understand their own body and how it directly correlates to mental health.
Pregnancy and postpartum are unique experiences to women. From a postmodern perspective, postpartum is often viewed as an imbalance of household responsibilities rather than a mental disorder. Regardless, the symptoms of postpartum are real and can be very scary. “I could not walk out of the bedroom with a baby, because I was utterly convinced I would drop him over the banisters […] I had very clear visions of seeing his fall”. 1 in 5 women will experience a maternal mental health disorder. More than 20% of postpartum deaths are a result of suicide. In the United States, over 600,000 women annually struggle with maternal mental health that reaches qualifications for diagnosis, and less than 15% receive treatment, meaning less than 90,000 women annually. While a number of factors can contribute to this disturbing and astonishingly low amount, lack of awareness can claim a majority of the responsibility. Untreated postpartum disorders can result in physical health decline, such as high blood pressure or heart conditions. In contrast, a 2022 study showed that treating for caretaker depression significantly influenced and improved their children’s asthma conditions. Adequate advocacy and equality for maternal mental health treatment has been proven to not only benefit the women, but the families as well.
Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States. The following will show the increase in deaths per 100,000 by suicide in different races of women from 1999 to 2017:
- White: 4.7 to 7.9
- Black: 1.7 to 2.8
- Non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander (API): 3.4 to 3.9
- Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN): 4.6 to 11.0
- Hispanic: 1.9 to 2.6
- All: 4.0 to 6.1
Without proper advocacy and access to mental health care for women, these statistics will continue to grow.
Common symptoms of mental disorders may include irritability, persistent sadness, feelings of hopelessness, unstable or unpredictable highs and lows, fatigue, decreased motivation/lack of interest in previously interesting activities, excessive fear or worry, and/or social withdrawal. Women are often unfairly burdened with responsibilities of others, feelings of needing to “have it together,” and masking emotions. Today, women are three times more likely to develop a mental disorder compared to men, and self-harm rates have tripled in women since 1993. Women deserve the right to choose and make their own decisions for their own life and how they want to live it. Taking the first step of reclaiming your life and happiness by seeking therapy can seem intimidating and terrifying on face value but has great potential to help overcome some of life’s biggest challenges, which look much differently for women than men. Reaching out is not a sign of weakness; rather, it is a clear indicator of bravery, courage, and strength.