Women and Mental Health
Women and Mental Health – An overview
Gender is an important factor in determining mental health and mental disease. The two words Woman and Mental health holds a significant relationship with each other. When we discuss a person's mental health, we are referring to their emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Women's mental health is an indicator of a healthy family, which in turn indicates a healthy society. Women are differentially impacted by mental problems than males are. Compared to men, they exhibit very different patterns of psychological suffering and psychiatric condition. They do so because they exhibit different symptoms- symptoms including long-lasting dejection, extended melancholy, alcohol and other drug use, excessive sleeping, etc.
Who experiences greater mental illness?
It is women who experience greater mental illness rather than their counterparts. Present-day typical mental health issues affect women three times more frequently than they do men. Since 1993, the prevalence of self-harm among young women has risen. Eating disorders are more than three times more common in women than in men. Women are more frequently affected by mental illness. There are differences between the sexes when it comes to mental illness: Women are more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety or depression, whereas men are more prone to engage in substance misuse or antisocial behaviours.
Which mental illnesses affect women more frequently?
The list of common mental illnesses affecting women is provided below.
1. Depression: a persistent condition of melancholy or emotions of hopelessness Suicidal thoughts, extreme highs and lows in mood, and feelings of helplessness
2. Anxiety disorder- it is a state of Excessive anxiety or worry that beyond the usual level
3. Perinatal depression - Women may exhibit signs of mental illnesses during periods of hormonal fluctuation, including premenstrual dysphoric disorder and depression linked to perimenopause.
4. Schizophrenia is a psychotic condition in which people's perceptions of reality change and become aberrant. Schizophrenia may include hallucinations, delusions, and severely irrational thinking and behaviour, which can make it difficult to go about daily activities and be incapacitating.
5. Bipolar disorder: A collection of brain disorders that cause a person's mood, energy, and capacity for function to fluctuate dramatically.
Women's mental health cannot be disregarded. Moods and mental wellness are extremely important in many different parts of women's life. Their relationships are directly impacted, and it may also have an impact on their self-esteem, hinder their ability to function well at work, and harm their physical health. Health diseases like heart disease and gastrointestinal problems are directly related to mental health problems.
Why is women's health such a big deal in India?
Issues like childbirth-related deaths, ignorance and illiteracy, violent assaults on women, etc. are still prevalent here. Overall, these issues have a negative impact on women's physical and emotional health. Additionally, a woman's poor health has an impact on her family as well as herself.
A woman needs to keep herself mentally fit because it can help her cope with life's stresses. Being physically fit, maintaining positive relationships, giving back to the community, working productively, and finally reaching her best potential.
A woman must exercise the following to enhance her mental wellbeing :
1. Unwind and lessen stress.
2. Look for methods to learn and be inventive.
3. Spend some time outside.
4. Establish relationships.
5. Take care of their bodily well-being.
6. Attempt to get enough rest.