Mental Health Stigma Harms Women More Than Men
Tiff Huang, Guest Writer from Global Human Rights Advocacy
Note: This article was written by a student of Dr. Meghan Cohen, in the class, Global Human Rights Advocacy. The Highlander is proud to serve as a platform for guest contributions and encourages collaboration between our community and our publication.
In the 19th century, women such as Dorothea Dix and Nellie Bly exposed the abuse of female mental health patients powered by the healthcare system. Treatment policies and regulations occurred, but “hysteria” has now turned into “dramatic” or “emotional”. In the new generation, there is a gender stigmatized systematic problem that persists, and creates the social aspect of misusing “trauma speech”. Recently, youth are becoming mental health literate, but the misuse of terms like "toxic" or "trauma" can lead to people, primarily women being accused of overreacting, or perpetuating a stereotype.
Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), a mental health centre in Afghanistan, reportedly has female patients who either have been completely abandoned by their families or have no visitors due to the deeply-rooted traditions of women being labeled as “melodramatic”. Sadly, these customs lead to women living and dying there. In the 20th century; frontal lobotomies, insulin coma therapy (ICT), electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), anxiolytic drugs, and other outdated methods, were prescribed to women as mental illness treatments much more than they were prescribed to men. Recent changes in diagnostic criteria (DSM-5) for some mood and anxiety disorders allowed providers to write prescriptions for medication, catered to “vulnerable” or “unhappy women”. In 2024, results from the National Center for PTSD found around 10% of women have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) sometime in their lives, compared to 4% of men.
Some may argue women don’t need more awareness for mental health, or that the topic is being overused. As shown in police reports between females and males; men tend to be more rational than females due to the emotional agency of situations like cheating. The new generation welcomes cis-gender and non-binary people to co-exist, as important assets, but pinpointed as unfair as any 2 genders have showcased traits that may be seen as more “feminine”. So, there should be more awareness for men in that aspect. Historically, men are less likely to report traumatic experiences or speak about them to professionals in mental health due to the notion of not being “masculine” enough. Just because these ideas persist for men because they are less-likely to report these mental health disparities, it doesn’t mean they don’t happen. A recent survey of low to high secure mental institutions found that women who self-harm require a higher level of intensive observations, which means resources for women are generally prioritized over that for men. Unlike many previous generations, mental health is getting necessary recognition, but there are more important minority groups to focus on.
It is true that men and minority groups do not always get enough mental health awareness or resources. However, the language used against women continues to allow degradation in mental health institutions, especially as men are less likely to be treated in mental hospitals. Research from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center shows 91% of rape and sexual assault victims are women. Additionally, 20% of women will be raped at some point in their lives compared to 1.4% of men. Men’s cases are being reported, but occur less often socially and systematically. For centuries, men and women have faced mental health disparities, but women face more inequality, especially as professionals take advantage of the stereotypes assigned. Within this study, staff of female-only wards reported that female patients are more demanding to work with, which causes an increase in burnout and emotional exhaustion. This factor directly causes experiences for female participants to find that medicalisation; treating social issues as a medical issue, delegitimizes their social experience of distress. This is a persistent and upcoming issue, especially with the internet and social media using the term “therapy speech” terms. While these terms are ultimately important regarding topics such as red-flags in people, setting boundaries, and healthy ways to cope, it can also minimize stories of trauma, and sets the younger generation in an isolated mindset of victim-blaming. Therefore, employment of “therapy speech” is a double edged sword. More often than not, men are believed more than women, due to the mindset of vulnerability and between perpetrators and victims.
Many institutions like the Bay Area Clinical Associates (BACA) are starting to use evidence-based treatments like psychotherapy, women’s therapy groups, and women's peer support groups. Not only do medical practices have to change within healthcare treatments and diagnostics, but social change is needed. In the 21st century, education or sharing resources can improve the framework to help women overcome mental health issues. Education and awareness for men’s mental health on social media and within the healthcare system has greatly received sympathy; showing evidence-based research is a resolution.
Educating ourselves to understand these social and judicial differences allows the world, including the internet, to rethink their language usage of mental health. Being literate in psychology vocabulary will uphold mental health awareness, but this solution must avoid using trendy words such as “toxic”, “emotional”, “dramatic”, "feminism", and “misogyny”. Mainstreaming mental health can actually hinder progress of reducing stigmatization, especially when youth use social media as a form of validation, rather than understanding their personal responsibility to resilience. Overusing these topics and words can dismiss the substantial stories of mental health struggles and leads to invalidation from personal relationships. If vulnerable groups of minorities like men receive mental health support; why does a large majority of women continue being invalidated when they seek mental health help?