Five Meaningful Paths Towards Advancing Women’s Mental Health

While considerable progress has been made, there are still challenges and much work to be done when it comes to advancing woman’s mental health. This blog post will go beyond simply listing obstacles in the way of moving women’s mental health forward. Rather, we will also look at what steps we can take to advance women’s mental health from the highest level of systemic change all the way down to personal, daily commitments that individual women can make to improve their own mental health.

Shining a light on women’s mental health matters is not about excluding men or negating their experiences with mental health. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Human behavior is complex and best understood as occurring in the context of multiple interconnected systems. Being a woman and understanding the unique mental health challenges we face is but one facet of many important multicultural considerations of the human experience. There are other online spaces where men’s mental health matters are the primary area of focus.

Highlighting the mental health vulnerabilities of women is important for individual women and their healthcare providers to know. Awareness of areas of risk informs mental illness prevention as well as early intervention when mental health issues do develop.

In addition to sharing research findings and statistics relevant to women’s mental health throughout this blog post, there may be occasions in which my own lived experience as a woman comes through. I recognize that I have readers from all over the world, so it is important to acknowledge that my perspective is that of a cis-gender female of European ancestry who is living in the United States.

Discussion of women’s mental health can involve some serious topics, so here are a few cautions to readers before proceeding with reviewing this article. Although not discussed in great detail, there is mention of gender differences and statistics involving topics that may be triggering to some readers. These topics include sexual assault, discrimination, sexual harassment, and suicide risk.

Now that these gentle alerts have been provided, it is time to explore these five meaningful paths towards advancing women’s mental health. The five meaningful paths towards advancing women’s mental health that will be covered are as follows:

1.      Increase Awareness of Women’s Mental Health Issues

2.      Acknowledge and Address Disparities Related to Women’s Mental Health

3.      Understand the Obstacles to Receiving Treatment for Women’s Mental Health Issues

4.      Treat Women’s Mental Health with the Same Level of Importance as Physical Health

5.      Prioritize Your Overall Well-Being with Women’s Mental Health Tips

Keep reading to explore each path in more detail.

Increase Awareness of Women’s Mental Health Issues

In the big picture, there are more similarities than differences when it comes to mental health issues for women and men. There are, however, some significant differences between women and men in the area of mental health that are worthy of awareness. Mental health experiences that are unique to women will also be covered.  

Let’s begin with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder, which are two of the most common mental health disorders. The rates of diagnoses of anxiety and depression are higher for women than they are for men. In fact, women are twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with anxiety or depression. Eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder are also more common mental health diagnoses for women than men.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is another common mental health disorder that women experience more often than men. Although the general public may be more familiar with the important mental health concern of combat-related PTSD, women are diagnosed with PTSD more than men due to a different reason. When certain mental health symptoms are present, PTSD can also be diagnosed in survivors of sexual assaults, which women are more likely to experience than men.

Thoughts of suicide and suicide attempts are severe symptoms associated with mental illness. Research in the area of suicide risk indicates that women are more likely to make a suicide attempt in their lifetimes than men. While women make suicide attempts more often, it is important to clarify that men are actually more likely to die by suicide than women because men select more lethal means for suicide attempts.

Suicide attempts are associated with intense emotional pain, feelings of hopelessness, and other risk factors. Suicide has long been understood as a permanent solution to a temporary problem. It is extremely hard for someone in extreme emotional distress to see the hope for the future, but hope is indeed there. Hope may be in the form of the confidential support that is always available (24/7) for those experiencing a suicide crisis by calling or texting 988. If you have lost someone to suicide, support for survivors is available through the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention as well as the Alliance of Hope.

Increasing awareness of women’s mental health issues must also include consideration of the impact a woman’s menstrual cycle can have on mental health. Some members of the general public still tend to associate irritability in women with “PMS” and “raging hormones,” but that is not actually the case.

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) does involve irritability as well as sadness during the week before menses (e.g., a woman’s period), but it is due to a decrease in relevant hormone levels, not elevations in them. The relevant hormone levels are lowest the week prior to menses and during menses. These phases of the woman’s menstrual cycle are associated with increased anxiety and depressed mood. PMS can also exacerbate a pre-existing diagnosis of depression.

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a severe form of PMS and is a formal mental health diagnosis. Symptoms of PMDD are unique to each woman with this diagnosis, but may include mood symptoms like mood swings, irritability, anxiety, and depressed mood. PMDD symptoms may also involve increased sensitivity to rejection, self-deprecating thoughts, sleep difficulties, overeating, fatigue, bloating sensations, and muscle pain.

Another important consideration in the area of women’s mental health are the mental health vulnerabilities women can experience during and after pregnancy. Perinatal depression is a diagnosis of clinical depression occurring during pregnancy or within the year after giving birth. The term post-partum depression is also used to describe a clinical level of depression up to a year after giving birth. Unfortunately, many women experiencing perinatal or post-partum depression do not seek treatment as their symptoms are minimized or thought to be normal “baby blues.”

Two final areas in which to increase awareness are the mental health issues women can experience during perimenopause and menopause. Transitioning into menopause (perimenopause) and menopause itself involve hormonal changes and potential difficulty adjusting to new stages of life. Some women may experience mood swings, anxiety, and depression when going through perimenopause and menopause.

Acknowledge and Address Disparities Related to Women’s Mental Health

The next meaningful path towards advancing women’s mental health entails acknowledging and addressing gender disparities that can negatively impact women’s mental health. While notable changes have been made in terms of gender inequalities in different segments of society, there are still substantial gender disparities that can have a negative impact on women’s mental health. For example, women are more likely to be discriminated against due to their gender than are men.

According to the US Census Bureau, for every dollar men earned in 2020, women only earned eighty-three cents. In 2022, women would have to work 14.5 months to make the same amount of money men make in the 12-month year. (Note: the practice will update these data for 2023 when official statistics become available.) Another gender disparity seen in the workplace is that women are more likely to experience sexual harassment than are men.

Such differences can have negative impacts on women’s mental health and emotional wellbeing. These disparities can make women more vulnerable to developing mental health issues.

Understand the Obstacles to Receiving Treatment for Women’s Mental Health Issues

The third meaningful path towards advancing women’s mental health involves understanding the obstacles to receiving treatment for women’s mental health issues. Recent decades have seen an increase in efforts towards destigmatizing seeking mental health treatment, but mental health stigma is still present throughout many segments of society.

In addition to mental health stigma getting in the way of seeking help, limited access to quality psychotherapy is another obstacle to receiving treatment for women’s mental health issues. This is a systemic issue that disproportionately effects women of color.

Even when there is access to quality psychotherapy, some women may believe that participating in their own psychotherapy sessions is selfish. This obstacle to receiving treatment for women’s mental health issues often involves a mindset that everyone and everything else (e.g., partner, children, or work) come first. Many women feel that they do not deserve the time to themselves that mental health treatment requires.

Treat Women’s Mental Health with the Same Level of Importance as Physical Health

The next meaningful path towards advancing women’s mental health is to treat women’s mental health with the same level of importance as physical health. Mental health typically takes a back seat to physical health, which is unwise because mental health is essential to our overall health. In fact, mental health and physical health are highly interconnected.

One example of the interconnectedness of mental health and physical health is the link between our psychological functioning to our immune and nervous systems. For example, when we are not feeling well emotionally, we are more susceptible to getting sick with a physical illness. Another example, and one that is perhaps more motivating, are the mental health benefits one can experience after engaging in physical exercise.

When the importance of women’s mental health is minimized (or even stigmatized) there are profound consequences. This minimization means that seeking treatment for women’s mental health issues or engaging in activities that could help prevent future mental health issues for women are also not prioritized.

Treating women’s mental health with the same level of importance as physical health requires systemic change. The healthcare system needs better communication among all clinicians to move towards true holistic care. More businesses need to do a better job of understanding the mental health needs of their employees. For example, mental health days need to be normalized and considered the same as any sick day.

As individual women, we need to prioritize activities for our mental health just like we would those trips to the gym for our physical health or appearance. The next and final path focusses on steps individual women can take to improve their own mental health.  

Prioritize Your Overall Well-Being with these Women’s Mental Health Tips

The final path is all about personal, daily commitments that individual women can make towards advancing women’s mental health. You can prioritize your overall well-being by implementing some of  these women’s mental health tips.

Simple steps taken each day can have a serious impact on our mental health. Making sure we are getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, and eating nutritious foods are some of the basic building blocks to improving mood and regulating difficult emotions when they do occur. Engaging in physical exercise can also help improve mood. Remember, physical health and mental health are interconnected and influence each other.

Finding ways to be fully present in the current moment is another way to prioritize your own mental health and wellness. This tip is all about the practice of mindfulness, which involves bringing one’s attention to the present moment in a wholehearted and non-judgmental fashion. This ancient practice has been shown through scientific research to reduce stress, improve mood, enhance overall wellbeing, increase mental focus, and lead to greater relationship satisfaction.

Many people may associate the practice of mindfulness with meditation, but there are plenty of other ways to practice mindfulness, too. For example, totally immersing oneself into the experience of listening to music is an opportunity to be mindfully present in the current moment.

Another way to practice mindfulness that does not involve meditating is spending time in nature. To be fully present in the current moment, try experiencing the natural world around you by engaging as many of the five senses as possible. For example, consider how you can engage all your five senses when taking a walk on the beach. You can see the horizon where the ocean meets the sky, you can hear the crashing of the ocean waves, feel the ocean breeze on your skin, smell the salty air, and maybe even catch a taste of that ocean mist. Spending time in nature is also an opportunity to enjoy the sunshine and get some vitamin D, which is linked to mood regulation.

It is important to remember that human behavior is complex. Even with daily commitments towards prioritizing one’s mental health, issues can still develop. That is why the final tip is to seek professional care as soon as possible if concerns about your own mental health do arise.

Our primary care providers are typically the first point of contact when we have a health concern. It makes sense to see a primary care provider when mental health concerns first arise because some symptoms that look like a mental health condition may actually be caused by an underlying physical health problem. For example, untreated hypothyroidism can mimic depression. The treatments for depression and hypothyroidism are completely different though.

It is also perfectly fine to start out seeking treatment for mental health concerns with a relevant specialist such as a psychologist, psychiatrist, or counselor. In order to accurately diagnosis a mental health condition, such professionals will need to rule out physical causes for the mental health concerns one is experiencing. Depending on the timing of mental health symptoms and one’s last physical, mental health professionals may recommend a visit with one’s primary care provider to go along side mental health treatment. This is where that holistic, collaborative care comes in.

Next Steps Towards Advancing Women’s Mental Health

Now that we have reviewed these five meaningful paths towards advancing women’s mental health, what are your next steps? Does getting involved with the systemic change needed to advance women’s mental health speak to you? Or were the personal, daily commitments that individual women can make to improve their own mental health seem like the best way to focus your energy? Perhaps both or something different all together?

I hope this exploration of how we can advance women’s mental health has inspired you to take action for yourself and the greater community.

Dr. Jennifer McManus is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Florida. She specializes in psychotherapy for women who want help with stress, anxiety, professional burnout, and breakups. You can learn more about her practice at www.drjennifermcmanus.com, by emailing, or by calling the office at 866-706-3665.