Women are considered as the household’s glue and powerhouse. They keep the family intact and serve as the beacon of light for the children. However, as much as most women as powerhouses, they’re not completely super. They too experience problems in terms of mental health and it is important that this should also be given priority.
Today’s various social factors have affected how women deal with mental health making them increasingly vulnerable to it. We have to take into account a few things that could affect women’s mental health. This would include women being the main carers of their family, extended family and/or other dependent relative, multiple roles such as career woman and mother, income, poverty, and physical and/or sexual abuse.
With all those factors, and possibly more, being accounted for, what are the different mental health problems that are affecting women?
The first in the list is depression. Women are more susceptible to depression than men wherein one out of four women often have to get treatment for it. The most common reasons why this is prevalent in women is because of poverty, isolation and biological factors. Some also point to post-natal being a reason why some women tend to get depressed. Such mental illness often leads to self-harm or even suicide.
The second in the list is anxiety and followed by eating disorders. Almost 60% of women are known to either have phobia or OCD. Sometimes, this is developed early in their life especially when it is related to a particular experience. On the other hand, eating disorders are common in women especially those in their teenage years where they become extremely conscious of body image due to peers and constant exposure to media. Almost 2% of women experience anorexia and 1% experience bulimia.
Finally more women are at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than men due to sexual violence. Sexual violence does not only happen in the streets in the form of rape or harassment, but it can happen anywhere including at the workplace or at home, the very place where women should at least feel safe. PTSD can also happen when women are abused constantly.