Women's mental health

Changes during these times can disrupt a woman’s hormonal balance. This can affect not only their physical health but also their mood, anxiety levels, and overall sense of wellbeing.

Girls and young women are particularly vulnerable to mental health challenges during puberty. Social pressures, cyberbullying, body image worries, and physical changes in both body and mind can make things feel even more overwhelming.

Menstruation can cause rapid hormonal changes, and these can interfere with a woman’s ability to regulate mood. This increases the likelihood of depression and anxiety during this time. Conditions linked to periods can also affect a woman’s ability to work or go to school, which can take a significant toll on their mental health.

For some, period insecurity can make menstruation even more challenging. When access to affordable menstrual products is limited, it can bring about stress and feelings of shame. 

An important life transition for all women is menopause. Hormonal shifts and physical changes during menopause can cause hot flushes, night sweats, and interrupted sleep. These can affect a woman’s overall wellbeing and mood.

Experts say menopause can also impact brain function, leading to memory loss and irritability. When women experience these changes and symptoms, they create uncertainty, which may increase a woman’s risk of anxiety and depression.

Hormonal changes, combined with personal circumstances, can make pregnancy an emotional time. Moods may flip from elation and excitement to sadness, irritability, or anxiety.

It’s important for women to know they are not alone and these feelings are common. In fact, around 1 in 7 women experience depression and anxiety during pregnancy or after the birth of a baby.

Adjusting to this major life change, alongside the daily demands of early motherhood, can leave women feeling sad, isolated, or lonely. This is especially true if they’ve faced mental health challenges before. Sometimes, these feelings may be temporary, but at other times, they can be more severe, such as with postpartum depression. 

Infertility and miscarriage are challenges that some of us may face.

• Around one in six couples face infertility.
• As many as one in four confirmed pregnancies end in miscarriage.
• One in 100 births results in stillbirth or newborn death.

These losses can deeply impact a woman’s emotional and mental wellbeing. The grief women feel is often private and unspoken, making it even harder to process.

Reaching out whether to a trusted professional, close friend, or family member can help navigate this time. It’s important to know that whatever we’re feeling, it’s okay to seek support. 

Over two-thirds of primary carers in Australia are women, often balancing the care of children, partners, and parents alongside their own needs. Juggling paid and unpaid work can be incredibly demanding, both emotionally and physically.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, especially when there’s little time left for self-care or to seek the support that women need.

Around 25% of women report struggling to manage on their current income, which is higher than the 22% of men facing the same challenge. 

These financial pressures and inequality can deeply affect our mental wellbeing, often leaving us feeling drained and unsupported.

The effects aren’t felt equally. The groups most affected by financial mental wellbeing are:

• divorced women (47%)
• single mothers (23%), and
• women living with a disability (44%).

Work has its own challenges. Feeling safe shouldn’t be one of them. 

Sadly, in a recent study, 26% of women recently experienced sexual harassment at their workplace. For 71% of these women, this had negative impacts on their mental health.

Over the past five years, data on sexual harassment has shown some troubling disparities among us:

• people aged between 15-17 years old
• LGBTIQ+ community members and intersex people
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and
• people with a disability.

These statistics remind women that there are many shared experiences to lean on for support. Taking care and seeking help when needed allows women to show up for themselves and others.

Making the first move can be daunting, but we can help you set your own plan. 

The Wellbeing Action Tool helps you discover what works for you and guides your journey to a healthier mind.

Sometimes, sharing how we feel and what we’re going through can help. That’s why Beyond Blue manages support programs, and groups focused on women’s unique mental wellbeing challenges.