Amara Shah
There come some gloomy days, suck all of my energy and leave behind a corpse which like a dead autumn leaf blows with the wind; purposeless and directionless, roams from one corner of the house to another with heavy breathing and dry lips. I try hard to hide my tears and find the darkest places to sit where I could beat my chest and cry. I hate moon light, I hate fresh air, I hate myself and I hate my existence.
Do these feelings sound familiar? They describe one’s mental health and this is how poor mental health affects and paralyzes us.
Mental health is a most challenging issue in the world but mental disorders affect women and men differently. Some disorders are more common in women like depression and anxiety, than men and other are unique to women.
Christine Kuehner (Central Institute of Mental Health) reviews gender gap in depression and identifies potential risk factors such as the influence of sex hormones, women’s lower self-esteem and higher tendency for body shame, experienced violence, childhood sexual abuse, and on a societal level lack of gender equality and discrimination.
Many factors that increase the risk for depression are more prevalent in women and might therefore contribute to their higher depression rate.
Psychiatrists believe that one of the most important psychosocial risk factors for mental disorders in women is gender-based violence.
Domestic and sexual violence and abuse is recognised as an expression of power inequalities between men and women. Human trafficking, female genital mutilation, forced and early marriage, honour crimes, gender harassment, or simple discrimination in the workplace or during professional careers are main reasons that affect women’s mental health globally.
U.S. Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch found that women service members were diagnosed with anxiety at a rate that was 1.4 times that of their male counterparts, and women in the survey were 1.9 times more likely than men to be diagnosed with depression.
Another factor that affects women more than men is body image. Body image is how you think and feel about your body.
Media all over the world objectify women and create a certain ideal body image for women. This affects working women, young and teenage girls and housewives equally and cause higher risk of depression, eating disorders, or other mental and physical health problems.
According to Recovery Across Mental Health, 1.9% of women will experience anorexia (excessive weight loss) each year, compared to 0.2% of men. Young women are particularly susceptible to eating disorders: between 0.5% and 1% of young women are impacted by bulimia (binge eating and purging) in the course of a year.
Unfortunately, women do not tend to get treatment for their mental health problems. This is due to stigma that society attaches with mental health illness. Sometimes there is “internalized or self-stigma” that results from their self-image being formed by how others perceive them leads women to be secretive about their mental health problems thus they avoid treatment.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that women wait an average of four years after the onset of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) symptoms before asking for help. Men, on the other hand, seek assistance an average of one year after PTSD symptoms arise. Sexual violence is the primary source of PTSD worldwide.
Psychiatrist believe that women are more prone than men to feel stigmatized for seeking assistance with a mental health issue. Women tend to rely on the opinions of the outside world for their self-esteem much more than men do. The stigma of seeking treatment for a mental illness is greater among women of colour.
The situation in Pakistan is worse. The Pakistani women suffer due to various cultural practices and social norms; violence, sexual harassment, honour killing, karo kari, marital distress and inequality.
There are not enough psychiatrists/ psychologists so it is unsurprising that stigma is widespread, there is almost no awareness, and treatment interventions are limited. Mental health is so badly stigmatised in Pakistan that those who are aware do not want to discuss it or get treatment, and those who are unaware refer it the influence of black magic and evil eye, possession by jinn, or the consequences of being exposed to a solar/moon eclipse. Sometimes it is considered toxic effect of “Western” medications or simply God’s wrath upon the one who is suffering. People don’t tend to seek professional help visit solicit faith healers or religious figures to find solutions for their problems.
One thing that a patient needs to understand is that mental illness is not something to be ashamed of. You need care and treatment. You didn’t choose it yourself, neither does it define you. It should be treated and not hidden.
