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Why Women’s Mental Health is Important
It is essential to recognize that women’s and girls mental health needs can be distinct due to a combination of biological, social, and cultural factors. These include unique stressors such as workplace discrimination, gendered expectations related to childcare and pregnancy, and socio-economic barriers, all of which can significantly impact their mental well-being. These pressures may also contribute to challenges in accessing mental health care or receiving appropriate support.
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) provides valuable resources to help women of all ages: girls, teens, women, and older adults, navigate these challenges and access mental health support.
Anxiety disorders are real, serious medical conditions - just as real and serious as physical disorders such as heart disease or diabetes. Anxiety disorders are the most common and pervasive mental disorders in the United States. Click here to learn more about women and anxiety.
Every day, women face many different stressors in both their personal and professional lives. Feeling sad, lonely, and scared are normal reactions, however, for individuals who are diagnosed with depression, these feelings tend to be more severe as they persist. Click here to learn more about women and depression.
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PPD)
Many women may experience transient physical and emotional changes around the time of their period1. These symptoms are usually mild and tolerable but when it becomes uncontrollable and debilitating, they may interfere with a woman's quality of life and mental health. Click here to learn more about PMS and PPD.
Perinatal Mood Disorders: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment
Perinatal mood disorders include emotional issues like depression and anxiety that can happen during pregnancy or up to a year after giving birth. Perinatal depression is a type of depression that starts during pregnancy or within the first year after childbirth.
Experts say depression and anxiety are among the most common mental health challenges for women during and after pregnancy. While many new moms may experience mild mood changes, around 15-20% experience more serious symptoms of depression or anxiety that need attention.
If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of sadness or anxiety during or after pregnancy, you’re not alone. Postpartum depression and perinatal anxiety are treatable, and there are support resources available. Watch a video or learn more about these conditions from non-profit organizations like Postpartum Support International.
Following childbirth, other known as "postpartum", women may experience postpartum disorders that can affect their mental health. The high hormonal changes and fluctuations that occur during and after childbirth could cause mothers to feel intense mood swings called "the baby blues" which affects 80% of mothers. Click here to learn more about postpartum disorders.
Girls and Teens
Anxiety, depression, and other co-occurring disorders can occur in both genders but during the teenage years, girls are at a higher risk than boys. Click here to learn more about mental health in young girls and teens.
Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)
Most of us have something we don't like about our appearance — a crooked nose, an uneven smile, or eyes that are too large or too small. And though we may fret about our imperfections, they generally don’t interfere with our daily lives. But people who have body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) think about their real or perceived flaws for hours each day and this can lead to serious mental health issues. Click here to learn more about BDD.
Eating disorders are illnesses that involve irregular eating habits and a severe concern about body weight, shape or overall appearance. They affect both genders, although rates among women and girls are 2.5 times greater than among men and boys. Transgender individuals experience eating disorders at rates significantly higher than cisgender individuals (Diemer et al., 2015). Click here to learn more about eating disorders.
Older Women
Women aged 50 or older reported more current and lifetime diagnoses of depression than men. The same report notes that women aged 50–64 report a lifetime diagnosis of an anxiety disorder more often than men in this age group. Click here to learn more about mental health in older women.
Perimenopause-related Mood Disorders
Watch ADAA's short animated video - What is Perimenopause, ¿Qué es la Perimenopausia?
Listen to ADAA's podcast - Perimenopause and Depression: When Hormones Hijack Your Mental Health
Women have an increased risk for depression as they transition to menopause. The time period before menopause is "perimenopause" and it represents the passage from reproductive to non-reproductive life. Click here to learn more about perimenopause and depression.
Watch the What is menopause? video.
Read this blog on Menopause and Mental Health: Understanding the Connection and Recommendations for Treatment.
Community Mental Health Resources
Access professional support, crisis services, and tools designed to help manage anxiety, depression, and related mental health conditions. While ADAA believes these sources provide valuable information, inclusion here does not represent a formal endorsement.
Additional Resources from ADAA
Explore these helpful resources from public community members and ADAA’s professional members.
Blogs
- It's Not Just OCD About Physical Appearance: Understanding Body Dysmorphic Disorder
- Menopause and Mental Health: Understanding the Connection and Recommendations for Treatment
- 5 Things Latina Women Should Know About Mental Health During Perimenopause
- Women’s Issues with Sleep: Interview with NOW’s President
- Navigating Anxiety in Women with ADHD: Understanding, Managing, and Thriving
- The Impact of Post-Election Uncertainty on Women’s Mental Health
- Tips to Combat the "What If's" of OCD During Pregnancy and After Birth
- Treating Perinatal Mood Disorders Using Behavioral Activation Psychotherapy
- Understanding Postpartum OCD and the Mother/Baby Attachment
- Unseen Trauma: Recognizing and Understanding Childbirth-Related PTSD
- What You Need to Know About Breastfeeding and Parent Mental Health
- Women Trailblazers in Mental Health
- Women’s Issues with Sleep: Interview with NOW’s President
Webinars
- Menopause and Mental Health: Optimizing Quality of Life in Mid-life
- Beyond Physical Appearance: Understanding Body Dysmorphic Disorder
- Fostering Mental Wellness for A Stress-Less Pregnancy
- Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD): The Disease of Self-Perceived Ugliness and its Relationship to OCD
Personal Stories from the Community
- The Beginning of My Journey with Anxiety
- Everlasting Suicide
- Physical Appearance Does Not Define
- My Panic Attack
- OCD Took My Life Away at the Age of 8
- You Can Teach an Old(er) Dog – With OCD – New Tricks! (Or Why I Attended an OCD Treatment Program in My Late 40s)
- My Anxiety Triumph
- An Unrecognized Symptom of Bipolar Disorder: Rage
- They're Just Thoughts
Videos
Podcasts
Infographics
- Women & Anxiety, Depression, and Co-occurring Disorders infographic.
- Postpartum Depression & Anxiety (in partnership with Postpartum Society International)
ADAA Women's Health Special Interest Group creates a place for clinicians and researchers to discuss, debate, and address issues relevant to the understanding and treatment of women suffering from anxiety and depression and related disorders.
To learn more in-depth about Women's Mental Health check out ADAA's Patient Guide to Mood and Anxiety Disorders.
