Women are soft hearted beings. They are gentle and
kind. They face loads of strain cum tension of varying magnitude during their journey
of life out of which mental stress and its related disorders are amongst the
prominent after effects. In their conviction to keep everyone happy, they lose
their mental integrity. According to the facts and statistics given by WHO, Depressive
disorders account for close to 41.9% of the disability from neuropsychiatric
disorders among women compared to 29.3% among men. The leading mental health
problems of the elderly people are depression, organic brain syndromes and
dementias. Shocking yet significant result is that amongst these people,
majority are women.
An estimated 80% of 50 million people affected by
violent conflicts, civil wars, disasters, and displacement are women and
children.
Lifetime prevalence rate of violence against women
ranges from 16% to 50%. At least one in five women suffers from rape/attempted
rape/molestation in their lifetime. These are the horrifying results which draw
our attention towards this grave issue.
Mental stress is induced among women owing to her
environment at personal and professional front. By her qualities of heal and
hearty, mostly she is able to manage both fronts efficiently and effectively;
at times there occurs a conflict of situations which imbalance her integrity. There
are many reasons for depression or psychological stress; mainly it could be due
to violence- sexual or domestic (which could be physical), gender
discrimination at every turn, while coping up to be an efficient
daughter/wife/mother/friend simultaneously where at one point of time she
forgets to live herself and last but not the least are other associated
socioeconomic factors affecting her mental health secondarily... like
over-exhaustion due to household chores, peer pressure, poverty, health related
issues viz. malnutrition etc. Associated factors could be seen affecting the
mental health of men but women are affected more severely comparatively in
terms of frequency and severity. Women are more emotionally inclined hence are
trapped in emotional bouts leading to excessive strain. Women have been fed with
the disease of inferiority complex; no matter how high they reach… deep inside
they know they are lesser. Lack of self confidence affects them even harder. These
patients are not recognized and therefore not treated. As
per the research, Unipolar depression, predicted to be the second
leading cause of global disability burden by 2020, is twice as common in women.
Now the question which rises is that what can be
done to prevent the present scenario from deteriorating or what measures can be
taken to improve the situation. There’s a need to formulate health related
policies that directly target the mental illnesses of all ages. General
population should be taught about basics of mental health and ways to distress
oneself. Meditation definitely helps. Women who have been abused should be
handled with TLC (tender love & care). We all should try to help women who
have been ill treated or abused; they need our assistance so as to cope up with
their stresses. In this gizmo-tech world, every individual is fighting along
with his inner conscious to curb down the stress. Point is that together we can
resolve the underlying cause but alone we only get stuck. This is especially
true for women who are taken for granted and presumed to be better listeners;
their problems remain unsung… Hence, devise ways to smile in pain…
Let’s take steps towards a stress free healthy life
for women!
By
Aakshi Kalra
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