Welcome back to Ruby’s Corner!
For today’s blog we’ll be discussing how mental health affects women. As a fresh reminder our 2-minute film production is centered around “how mental health affects women and men”. That said, it only makes sense if I research how it affects both genders before we begin filming the 2-minute film. This is also done to give me and my peers an idea on how the affects may vary due to many reasons allowing us to represent these feelings/ emotions as best as possible to our audience throughout the film. For the men staying in tune for this blog I encourage you to read and retain as much info as you can as boring as it may get being I truly feel you’ll learn so much, making you better brothers, sons, cousin and even husbands for your future wife’s!
“Mental Health Foundation” states, Social and economic factors can put women at greater risk of poor mental health than men. However, women generally find it easier to talk about their feelings and have stronger social networks, both of which can help protect their mental health. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/women-and-mental-health
Women are often times perceived as Wonder Women creating societal norms that are pushed onto us from a very young age. This ties back to social factors and the societal pressure to fulfill and overachieve traditional roles that result to stress and low self- esteem. Some other social factors include: discrimination and sexism, reproductive health issues and lack of social support. Let’s take a deeper look at these topics. Discrimination and Sexism are often times normalized in workplaces and sometimes even in our educational systems. Over the course of many years we can thankfully say discrimination isn’t any longer at its peak but, doesn’t mean it doesn’t ever occur. Since women are classified as weaker individuals we are often perceived as only being able to be caregivers, polite, and nurturing to all. Which don’t get me wrong, I truly believe that is true however, I also believe we are so much more! This gender bias often leaves many women feeling isolated and alone formulating poor mental health. Reproductive and health issues can truly have a toll on a women’s mental state. Lack of access to healthcare leads to pregnancy complications, menstrual disorders and often times infertility. This lingering feeling of helplessness and anxiety significantly affects a women’s mental well-being. Lastly, lack of social support. Being that women throughout many decades have been perceived as independent and “put together” we cannot catch a break for even ONE SECOND (I wish I was exaggerating it…). This lack of social support ultimately increases feelings of loneliness, stress, and depression making it harder to cope with all of life’s MANY challenges (and trust me there’s a lot).
Now that we’ve discussed some social factors, let’s discuss some economic factors that put women at risk for poor mental health. Some of these factors include: wage gap, job opportunities and workforce participation, and parental leave and childcare support. Let’s take a deeper look at wage gap. It’s been proven many MANY times that women earn less than men by simply partaking in the same work. As unethical as it is it’s been incredibly normalized. This economic disadvantage contributes to chronic stress and depression especially for women who are primary owners in their household. Job opportunities and workforce participation create limited access to leadership roles undermining women’s capabilities and intelligence creating diminished career satisfaction. These barriers advocate greater feelings of helplessness and reduced sense of purpose. Parental leave and childcare support places significant stress upon working mothers. The pressure of balancing work life and parenting without sufficient moral support can result to postpartum depression, anxiety and often times feelings of guilt for not being able to dedicate adequate time to their children/ career.
Moreover, as stated up above women due possess emotional intelligence allowing us to generally understand our emotions making it easier to navigate mental health issues. That said, it doesn’t mean women don’t suffer from poor well being, just that we’re able to overcome it more sufficiently than most men. For our 2-minute film I hope to accurately present the real-life mental struggles that women often do face.
I hope today’s blog was enlightening to most! Next blog we’ll dissect how mental health plays a toll on men. Bye bye.
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