By Sadaf Rehman, M.Phil. Psychology

Happy Women’s Day! In light of today, let’s bring awareness to some of the mental health issues that are most common in women. By understanding the risks, it can be easier to reach out for help.

Gender-specific risk factors means that one’s gender defines the likelihood of getting a particular mental health problem. There are some disorders that affect more men than women, and some that affect more women than men. In this article, we will be discussing the latter. Some gender-specific risk factors that affect more women than men are:

• Income inequality
• Low social ranking
• Unrelenting child care
• Gender-based violence
• Socioeconomic disadvantages

Women are most commonly affected by anxiety, depression, and eating disorders more as compared to men. Women are twice more likely to have a diagnosis of General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) as compared to their male counterparts. Moreover, both women and men experience postpartum depression; however, more women experience it than men.

Also, 85-95% of people who have anorexia nervosa and bulimia are women and 65% have a binge-eating disorder. The factors that have increased this disparity are to do with the reception of thinness in women to be associated with attractiveness and success. Moreover, the media, in general, also cornubites to the pressure that women often feel to appear thin.

In conclusion, it is important to understand the vulnerabilities of men and women, how they differ, and who needs what type of cushioning.

Sources:

American Psychiatric Association. (2017). Mental health disparities: Women’s mental health. Retrieved from https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Psychiatrists/Cultural-Competency/Mental-Health-Disparities/Mental-Health-Facts-for-Women.pdf

Anxiety Canada. (2019, February 21). Men and anxiety. Retrieved form https://www.anxietycanada.com/articles/men-and-anxiety/

Doering, L. V., & Eastwood, J. A. (2011). A literature review of depression, anxiety, and cardiovascular disease in women. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 40(3), 348-361.

Donner, N. C., & Lowry, C. A. (2013). Sex differences in anxiety and emotional behavior.

Pflügers Archiv-European Journal of Physiology, 465(5), 601-626.

World Health Organization. (no date). Gender and women’s mental health. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/genderwomen/en/

World   Health   Organization.   (no   date).   Maternal   mental   health.   Retrieved   from https://www.who.int/mental_health/maternal-child/maternal_mental_health/en/

World Health Organization. (2005). Gender in mental health research. Geneva: Switzerland:

 

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