Women’s Mental Health - Why It’s Dismissed and How to Improve It

Women are two times as likely as men to be diagnosed with depression. Why? Because as well meaning as doctors are, the current health system isn’t set up to meet the needs of women.

Anhedonia, or the inability to feel pleasure, is becoming more and more common amongst women with them feeling more exhausted, burnt out, depressed and joyless than ever. The solutions we’re seeing are the result of a dated health system that hasn’t caught up to the current needs of women, one that thinks an anti-depressant pill is the answer.

We need to look into what’s going on on the cellular level, beyond the basic blood test. My program, Health Over All offers evolved health care for women that incorporates the components of community, accountability and results. Health Over All sets a higher standard of care for women’s health and wellness. 

What To Do To Improve Your Mental Health

A more holistic approach is needed when addressing women’s mental health, so I’ve put together five ways to help improve your mental health, which I feel should be a part of the standard level of care we receive.

1. We Need To Look At Nutrient Deficiencies

Nutrients such as B Vitamin, Vitamin D, are building blocks for cellular processes. Nutrient deficiencies play a large role in our overall health, yet are rarely looked at. When it comes to assessing and treating women’s health, this is the spot we need to start.

2. Inflammation Assessments

We need to start taking a closer look at inflammation, because when we’re inflamed it can lead to issues like immune suppression, hormone imbalances, pain, and a slow healing process. Everything is affected when a part of our body is inflamed, so that’s why we need to figure out the source of the inflammation - is it food? Chronic? Bacteria? This is a pivotal aspect to our health and can greatly impact our mental health.

3. Hormonal Testing

Hormone balance is essential, because when hormones like estrogen, progesterone or testosterone are out of balance, it affects our mental health. Things like extreme PMS symptoms can also be indicators of hormone imbalance so that’s definitely something worth investigating on a regular basis to ensure our overall health doesn’t suffer.

4. Sleep

This simple step to improving mental health is extremely important. When we are dealing with adrenal dysfunction or hormone imbalances, we’re unable to manage stress and communicate our needs as easily. Sleep is when cellular repairs happen, so when we aren’t sleeping we aren’t able to heal. Getting at least 6-8 hours of sleep at night is one of the best things we can do to help our mental and overall health.

5. Exercise

This may seem like an obvious solution to improving our mental and overall health, but it’s more complicated than we think. We often think exercise equates to health, but in some cases there are women who have an adrenal imbalance and are actually working out too much. Oftentimes restorative exercises like yoga are more beneficial to our health. Of course, each person is different.

What’s Next

In order to improve our mental health, we need to go beyond the physical and reflect on our own mindset and beliefs as well. Oftentimes we fall into patterns of behaviour that ultimately contribute to poor mental health and unhappiness. It’s important to change our beliefs if we want to change our behaviour. 

Community and sisterhood is also just as much a part of the solution as getting proper testing. Health Over All offers help on the health side of things, while The Pleasure Collective addresses the mindset side. If you’re looking to find out more about either option, we are happy to help. Email our team at [email protected] to find out what the next steps are for you.

Listen to episode #31 of The Pleasure Principles Podcast on Apple or Spotify to learn more about women's health and how you can improve your mental health.