Breaking the Stigma: Women Who Thrive Focus on Wellbeing

Mental health issues have become such a hot topic within the media, advocates, individuals sharing their stories, and profound speakers worldwide. The exterior appearance of mental health and mental illness has no definitive look. Women go through an immense change physiologically throughout their lifespan. Anywhere from entering womanhood, bearing children, postpartum, menopause and a myriad of various changes within the body.

These changes that occur physically affect the mind also. Maintaining a healthy balance between one’s physical and mental health is imperative. Being able to recognize the mental shifts with the physical shifts is detrimental personally, emotionally, and mentally, and can affect your loved ones. The invisible symptoms of depression are often masked and camouflaged with postpartum depression. The mood swings that come with menopause are often swept under the rug. The term, ‘you’re just moody’ when a woman is going through menopause may often be inaccurate.

The common changes women face with their hormone levels can be attributed to the mental change associated with the physiological change. Research has shown that one in five women struggles with depression and/or anxiety. Not discounting the struggles men face with mental health because mental health does not care about race, sex, gender, etc.

Understanding a woman beyond her physical aspect looking at lifestyle and the roles that women take on can affect their mental well-being. Taking on the role of a stay-at-home mother is not seen in a negative connotation, but looking at all the tasks they undergo is more than being a mother. Children from infancy require attention, love, comfort, and much more. This also comes with time, lack of sleep, and an immense amount of energy, rich, rewarding, and loving.

Women can be self-conscious about their bodies, and this should not be swept under the rug and it can become a lingering problem. Throughout, the life span of women there are various obstacles they face. Knowledge equips a person with an objective awareness and helps profoundly when addressing matters in the present time. Acknowledging more than just the pivotal role a woman plays as a mother, wife, grandmother, or more is important because those thoughts that she is just moody or forgets to take lunch to the children at school are not just because they forgot but can be overwhelmed and grapple with the feeling of failure or being able to express how they feel.

Removing the perspective and stigmatic feeling behind, ‘you are just moody’, ‘how could you forget because you are supposed to know’, ‘you just had a baby you will get back in shape’, and so many other phrases will affect a woman’s mental health more than we can conceive possibly. We are surrounded by so many words, terms and phrases that have such a negative connotation it is time to reverse the tables and become educated and aware of the effect and toll it can take on one’s mental health.