Therapists Blame Gender Inequality For Women’s Poor Mental Health

 

Women are becoming more prone to depression, anxiety, grief, trauma, somatic complaints, and other mental health disorders than men, and that signalizes a severe public mental health problem.   Both healthcare and insurance system has overlooked the situation, and women are left trapped and are not aware that they are already exhibiting self-destructive behaviors.   

 

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Other Mental Health Problems More Common In Women 

Unipolar depression is said to be twice as common in women and predicted to becoming the second leading reason of disability burden worldwide by the year 2020.   

 

Another common disorder that affects more women is alcohol dependence.   It is said that in developing countries, the ratio is about 1 in 5 men and 1 in 12 women present to have alcohol dependence in their lifetime.    

 

Women also experience some kind of unique depression brought about by hormonal changes like that of perinatal and postpartum depression, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and pre, peri and postmenopausal depression.    

 

What Makes Women More Vulnerable To Mental Disorders 

 

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Mental health disorders were more common in women are due to many factors, and therapists blame gender inequality as one of the major reasons.   

 

Gender-Based Roles.  The society still dictates what is expected of a woman, regarding how she should dress, behave, and conduct herself.   

 

Stressors And Negative Life Experiences And Events.    Health, marriage and relationships, grief, work, house chores and responsibilities, finance, and other obligations and responsibilities can bring about stressors and negative life experiences and events.   

 

Gender-Based Violence.   Violence against women inflicted by men on women and girls highlights the reality that this is an expression of power inequalities.    

 

Socioeconomic Disadvantage.  It does not apply just to the income but the educational attainment, opportunities and privileges, and even financial security.   

 

Low Income And Income Inequality.   The reality in the wage gap where men are paid higher than women.   It is true and happening no matter what race a woman belongs.   

 

Low Social Status And Rank.  Women are inclined to have lower status than men due to gender biases.   Believing that women are just housemakers, fewer education opportunities are still prevalent in other cultures.    

 

Ceaseless Responsibility To Care For Others.  Women, either working or not, are tasked to take care of the children and do housework.  They are even expected to take care of sick parents and sick husbands, making them the primary caregiver of the household.   Housework, raising kids and caring for the elderly and ill people in the family are strenuous and often causes them not to earn income.     

 

When tasked to take care of the family, women often end up as just dependent on their working husbands; thus, women are also deprived of their access to affordable and comprehensive healthcare.   It has been an issue in the political arena for the past few years and legislators are still debating about this.   Women who are at higher risk of suffering from mental health issues and other health problems are also at higher risk of being uninsured or underinsured.   

 

How Can We Improve Women’s Mental Health? 

Therapists blame gender inequality as the primary cause of women’s being prone to mental health disorders.  Due to gender inequality, women who are suppressed by their opinions and restricted opportunities to have better lives are forced to embrace their embarrassing situations leaving them in the dark corners of mental health disorder.   

 

Source: pixabay.com

It’s about time that women are not only heard, but proper action should be taken to resolve the issues on women’s choosing the path to better health and getting equal opportunity to have access to affordable health insurance.    Women in every culture and society should be treated well and regarded by dominating men.   

Being treated with equality they deserve would not only provide healthier, comfortable lives, and safer environment for women, but for everybody in the society since women are the ones molding the minds of the children at home.   They have a significant influence on how these kids will grow up and will become in the future.