Women’s Mental Health
Make your mental health a priority. Find the support you need at Reid Health, where behavioral health providers find personalized care, designed just for you.
Caring for mental health at every age and stage of life
Good health goes beyond your physical well-being. Your mental health is just as important. After all, when you feel optimistic and upbeat about life, you’re more likely to make healthy choices, like eating well and exercising.
We know women care about their emotional well-being and that of their friends and families. Yet, women face unique mental health challenges. More than 20% develop conditions such as depression and anxiety, and women are more likely than men to be diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder.
At Reid Health, we’re dedicated to helping women navigate the ups and downs of life. We understand hormones and other biological factors unique to women require care from a specialized team, and our behavioral health specialists offer personalized care designed to help you live life to its fullest.
Common mental health conditions in women
Many conditions affect women more than men. In addition, the various hormonal changes in your life — monthly menstrual cycles, pregnancy, and menopause — can impact your mental health.
Women commonely experience mental health conditions, such as:.
- Anxiety: Women have more than double the likelihood of developing an anxiety disorder than men. These disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and phobias (intense fears).
- Bipolar disorder: Women are more likely than men to be diagnosed with this condition, which causes extreme changes in your mood, energy, and ability to go about your day. Hormone changes can affect symptoms, and the condition requires special care during pregnancy.
- Body image concerns: Women are more likely than men to experience eating disorders, and body dysmorphic disorder symptoms can be more severe in women. Pregnancy can also cause body image problems that can lead to unhealthy or negative thoughts.
- Depression: As with anxiety, women are twice as likely as men to experience depression, and women face unique forms of the disease, including postpartum depression.
- Personality disorders: Women are also more likely than men to develop borderline personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, both of which can take over your life.
- Substance use disorders: Women can misuse alcohol and drugs, just as men can, but women face different health effects, often have worse symptoms by the time they seek treatment, and have a harder time breaking an addiction because of their biological makeup. Substance use disorders can be treated, though, with the right care and support.
Mental health during pregnancy
Pregnancy can be joyful and exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming and sometimes even scary. It’s entirely normal to experience a range of emotions and moods when you’re expecting a baby.
Those ups and downs are driven in part by hormonal fluctuations that occur during pregnancy and in the postpartum period, but many other factors, including life’s daily challenges, can also affect mental health during this time.
One in five women experience a mental health issue during the perinatal period, which starts at conception and continues for one year after delivery. This can include postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety, along with other mental health conditions.
How we can help
We understand the challenges that expectant and new moms face — and we offer specialized care at Reid that can help.
Our team at the Family Birthing Center includes two advanced practice providers (APPs) who are certified in maternal mental health, equipping them to provide postpartum support for new moms. They also understand the needs of women with existing mental health conditions.
Not all medications are safe during pregnancy and when breastfeeding, and our team can work with you to adjust your doses or medications to protect you and your baby.
Our dedicated maternal mental health specialists offer:
- Educational resources about maternal mental health
- Frequent visits to provide support to you before, during, and after pregnancy
- Help navigating hormonal fluctuations during and after pregnancy
- Personalized treatments with your health and your baby in mind
- Referral to additional mental health services, if needed
- Specialized pregnancy and postpartum support
Mental Health and Menstrual Cycle
In addition to personalized pregnancy care, our behavioral health specialists can help you navigate mental health concerns related to hormonal shifts that occur throughout your life.
During your reproductive years, you might develop psychological symptoms, including extreme irritability, depression, and anxiety, related to premenstrual syndrome or premenstrual dysphoric disorder. During menopause, you might notice increasing forgetfulness, problems concentrating, and other changes in your mental well-being.
We can help you determine whether you need treatment and, if so, whether antidepressants, birth control pills, or hormone therapies can help you manage your symptoms.