Photo by Leonard J Matthews on Flickr
By: Erica Nguyen
I found the resources on the Office of Women’s health very helpful. I liked this resource because I am personally interested in the mental health side of women’s health. I chose to examine mental health problems such as depression and PTSD and how they impacted women disproportionately to men. This resource was extremely useful because it gave me information on how to help someone who has this mental health problem and how to approach the situation. I believe that each mental health problem is unique, and you can’t treat everyone with a mental health problem the same way as you do with another person. This resource stretched my thinking as it provided me facts about each disorder and how an individual with the disorder acts and thinks. I think this resource can bring about discussion between gender and mental health. I’ve noticed that with each mental health problem, there’s usually a social context that causes a woman to be diagnosed with it. For example, depression is caused by stress such as serious and stressful life events, or the combination of several stressful events, such as trauma, loss of a loved one, a bad relationship, work responsibilities, caring for children and aging parents, abuse, and poverty. Women are disproportionately faced with those factors listed above due to gender norms in the society that expect women to be all the factors. Because of this, society ignores the mental implications that are placed on women as they struggle to balance all these factors in their lives (perhaps with little to no social support).
The Ted Talk by Dr Elyn Saks titled “A tale of mental illness – from the inside” also resonated with me. She was extremely vulnerable sharing her own personal story about her journey with schizophrenia. What struck a chord with me was how the hospital staff treated her first episode of schizophrenia by using physical means to get her in the hospital. Not only is that a violation of a human right but that just makes the situation worse for the individual having the episode. I think the media also plays a role in the stigma and stereotypes that we may place on individuals with mental illnesses as they are portrayed in news articles and in films/movies. This can trickle into the medical field if you are working in one and can create an internal bias that you have towards individuals with a mental illness. Dr. Elyn Saks effectively pushed and argued for more autonomy and in many cases, a restoration for basic human dignity. This also applies to human rights for all. Human rights are given yet many individuals around the world, especially girls are continuously violated and stripped of their rights. I think this talk effectively illustrates how violations of basic human rights translate into long lasting implications on an individuals’ mental health in the long run.
Sources:
Office on Women's Health. (2018, August 28). Reproductive health and mental health. Retrieved from https://www.womenshealth.gov/mental-health/living-mental-health-condition/reproductive-health-and-mental-health
Saks, E. (2012). A tale of mental illness -- from the inside. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/elyn_saks_a_tale_of_mental_illness_from_the_inside/up-next?language=en
I found the resources on the Office of Women’s health very helpful. I liked this resource because I am personally interested in the mental health side of women’s health. I chose to examine mental health problems such as depression and PTSD and how they impacted women disproportionately to men. This resource was extremely useful because it gave me information on how to help someone who has this mental health problem and how to approach the situation. I believe that each mental health problem is unique, and you can’t treat everyone with a mental health problem the same way as you do with another person. This resource stretched my thinking as it provided me facts about each disorder and how an individual with the disorder acts and thinks. I think this resource can bring about discussion between gender and mental health. I’ve noticed that with each mental health problem, there’s usually a social context that causes a woman to be diagnosed with it. For example, depression is caused by stress such as serious and stressful life events, or the combination of several stressful events, such as trauma, loss of a loved one, a bad relationship, work responsibilities, caring for children and aging parents, abuse, and poverty. Women are disproportionately faced with those factors listed above due to gender norms in the society that expect women to be all the factors. Because of this, society ignores the mental implications that are placed on women as they struggle to balance all these factors in their lives (perhaps with little to no social support).
The Ted Talk by Dr Elyn Saks titled “A tale of mental illness – from the inside” also resonated with me. She was extremely vulnerable sharing her own personal story about her journey with schizophrenia. What struck a chord with me was how the hospital staff treated her first episode of schizophrenia by using physical means to get her in the hospital. Not only is that a violation of a human right but that just makes the situation worse for the individual having the episode. I think the media also plays a role in the stigma and stereotypes that we may place on individuals with mental illnesses as they are portrayed in news articles and in films/movies. This can trickle into the medical field if you are working in one and can create an internal bias that you have towards individuals with a mental illness. Dr. Elyn Saks effectively pushed and argued for more autonomy and in many cases, a restoration for basic human dignity. This also applies to human rights for all. Human rights are given yet many individuals around the world, especially girls are continuously violated and stripped of their rights. I think this talk effectively illustrates how violations of basic human rights translate into long lasting implications on an individuals’ mental health in the long run.
Sources:
Office on Women's Health. (2018, August 28). Reproductive health and mental health. Retrieved from https://www.womenshealth.gov/mental-health/living-mental-health-condition/reproductive-health-and-mental-health
Saks, E. (2012). A tale of mental illness -- from the inside. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/elyn_saks_a_tale_of_mental_illness_from_the_inside/up-next?language=en
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