Mental Illnesses Common to Women

Having a mental illness is more common than most people may think. At least one in five women in the United States has had a mental illness at some point. Those that are common in women include depression and anxiety. Postpartum depression can develop after giving birth. 

Read more about mental illnesses common to women below.

Anxiety Disorders in Women 

While they can happen to anyone, anxiety disorders are twice as likely to occur in women than men. Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or fear about an event or situation. Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress and helps you cope. But when it gets hard to control and affects day-to-day life, it can be disabling. Anxiety disorders happen when extreme anxiety affects your daily activities, such as going to work or school or spending time with friends and family. 

Signs of an anxiety disorder include anxious thoughts or feelings of dread. The symptoms can keep you from living as you normally would.

Depression in Women

Studies show that about 1 in 10 women in the United States reported symptoms that suggest they experienced an episode of major depression in the last year, and women are nearly twice as likely as men to have had depression. It is normal to feel sad at times. However, depression can cause people to feel sad on most days. This can affect your daily life and how you engage with your loved ones.

Certain types of depression are unique to women and can occur at different stages of a woman’s life. Pregnancy, the postpartum period, perimenopause, and the menstrual cycle are all associated with physical and hormonal changes that could impact your mental health. If you have depression and get pregnant, your depression may get worse during pregnancy.  

There are many signs of depression. A few of them include feeling sad, hopeless, or tired most of the time. Speak with your health care provider if you have noticed signs of depression. You can discuss next steps and treatment options with your health care provider. 

More Than Just the Baby Blues: Postpartum Depression  

It is normal for some women to feel sad or have no emotion after giving birth. But if such feelings last more than two weeks, you may have postpartum depression. This can happen up to a year after giving birth. Once you give birth, your hormone levels quickly drop back to normal. The decrease can be sudden and extreme, which can lead to this condition. 

Postpartum depression is not a normal part of life after giving birth. If you notice signs of this condition, speak to your health care provider. You can also call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline. It offers free and confidential support for new mothers. Call or text the hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262). 

Managing Your Mental Health 

Many parts of daily life can impact your mood and mental health. They can include stress, your physical health, or the regular demands of life. But you can improve your quality of life when you take charge of your mental health.

Here are a few ways to manage your mental health overall:

• Get enough sleep each night (at least 7 hours)
• Engage in healthy habits, like exercising and eating well
• Stick to a treatment plan given by your health care provider
• Find a support group and seek out your health care provider for support 

Today, good mental health is achievable thanks to many forms of support. Share the resources in this blog to spread awareness of the importance of good mental health and to help ensure that everyone has equal access to the mental health resources they need. You can also use the blog as a source to find tools to help you manage your mental health. Together, we can all do our part to support better mental health for ourselves and others.

Learn more about mental health and treatment with these resources:

• Women and Depression | FDA
• Women and Anxiety | FDA
• Mental Health | CDC
• Depression Among Women | CDC
• Depression During and After Pregnancy| CDC
• Anxiety Disorders | NIMH
• For Friends and Family Members | SAMHSA
• Mental Health | Office on Women’s Health (womenshealth.gov) 

For resources and materials on other women’s health topics, visit www.fda.gov/womens.