Photo by Jackie Parker on Unsplash
This month is International Women’s History Month and March 8 is International Women’s Day, where we celebrate women achievements throughout history and across nations. I’m always thinking of ways to talk about mental health and since women are affected more than men regards to mental health, this topic is important to me. First of all, women are the backbone of many societies, and head of multiple families shaping the lives of young children, supporting spouses, caregivers of parents — the list is endless.
Though, when we talk about strong women in history, we tend to talk about the challenges they faced, like living with cancer, taking care of an ill child, but mental health has a dark history regarding women. In the turn of the century, women were seen as less than a man, and if women would challenge this hierarchy, they would be forced and committed to an insane asylum with no rights and recourse.
My Own Mother Experience
This reminds me of my childhood and how my own mother was forced to be committed many times throughout my childhood, (though for her safety and her children’s safety). I still have a sadness of how she must have felt being removed from her home, driven to a mental health hospital without a say. This was before the rights of people being committed; due to the abuse in history, where men dominated women and called it beneficial to their health.
Why There is No Shame Sharing Stories
Today, we need to start to celebrate women who have suffered from a mental health disorder, because to be clear, it’s no one’s fault. Cancer isn’t seen as something the person has done to themselves. We need to start to think about mental health, especially for women who are affected more often by postpartum depression, sexual assault, childhood trauma, and PSTD to name a few. Women also show signs of mental stress differently than men and will seek support for depression one out of four vs. men, one out of ten, generally.
Women in History: Diagnosed with a Mental Illness
Let’s celebrate women who have done extraordinary things in societies that make it better for all.
Quote: “I joke around a lot about the manic times because they’re funny. We manics do outrageous things and it is part of our colorful nature. – Patty Duke”
- Mary Todd Lincoln – The First lady from 1861 to 1865 and the wife of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. The First Lady was affected by a form of mental illness.
- Virginia Woolf – A British author and was famous for her works of Mrs. Dalloway (1925) and To the Lighthouse (1927). She suffered from bipolar disorder and died by suicide.
- Carrie Fisher – Actress and famous for playing Leia in Star Wars. She suffered from Bipolar Disorder
- Catherine Zeta-Jones – Actress, best knows for The Mark of Zorro and wife of Michael Douglas. She suffers from Type 2 Bipolar Disorder
- Sinead O’Connor – Singer, songwriter, activist.
- Patty Duke – Actress – Anna Marie “Patty” Duke was an American actress, appearing on stage, film, and television.
