Women’s mental health

The teen years bring periods, new body shapes, strong feelings and lots of pressure: school, friends, social media and how you look. Mood swings can be a normal part of growing up. But sadness, worry or anger that will not lift is worth talking about.

Many teens notice mood changes in the days before their period. Keeping track on a calendar or app can help you spot a pattern, and it is useful to show a doctor or nurse.

Things that help

• Sleep, movement and regular meals
• A trusted adult to talk to: a parent, aunt, coach, teacher or school counselor
• Taking breaks from social media when it makes you feel worse about yourself
• Remembering that bodies come in all shapes and sizes

These years are often full: building a career, dating or settling down, paying bills, and for some, trying for a baby. Many women also start caring for others, like children or parents. The pressure to “do it all” can quietly build into stress and burnout.

Premenstrual mood changes are often most noticeable for women in their 30s.

Things that help

• Saying no to some things so you can say yes to rest
• Friends you can be honest with
• Sharing the load at home (see The mental load guide)
• Checking in with yourself each week: how am I, really?

Pregnancy and the year after birth are times of big hormone changes, broken sleep and a whole new identity. Depression and anxiety during this time are common, and they are not caused by anything a mother did or did not do.

Worldwide, more than 1 in 10 women who are pregnant or have just given birth experience depression.

Roughly one in six people of reproductive age worldwide will experience infertility. The months or years of trying can bring stress, depression, anxiety and low self-esteem.

Among women who know they are pregnant, about 1 in 8 pregnancies end in miscarriage. Most are not caused by anything the mother did.

Perimenopause is the time leading up to menopause, when periods become irregular. Mood swings, low mood, anxiety, poor sleep and trouble concentrating are common. For some women, the sadness, irritability or loss of enjoyment becomes strong enough to be depression.

Midlife often brings other changes too: children leaving home, caring for ageing parents, and work pressures. These can add to how you feel.

Older women may face the loss of a partner or friends, living alone, money worries, or health problems. Feeling sad after a loss is natural. But low mood that lasts for weeks is not something you just have to accept as “getting old”.

Worldwide, about 5.4% of adults aged 70 and older experience depression (2023).

Things that help

• Staying connected: calls, visits, clubs, faith groups or volunteering
• Gentle movement, like walking or chair exercises
• Telling your doctor about mood, not just body aches
• Learning something new: a class, a craft, a language

Many women juggle work, children, ageing parents and a home all at once. Women made up 58% of unpaid family caregivers in the U.S. (2015–2017), and research with couples found women did more of the invisible thinking work of running a home.

Health experts list discrimination, harassment and bullying among the main risks to mental health at work.

Boys more often show restless, hyperactive signs, while girls and women are more likely to be diagnosed with the inattentive type: zoning out, forgetting, losing things and struggling to get organised. These quieter signs are easier to miss.

Differences in how often men and women are diagnosed start to even out in adulthood.

The NHS says signs of autism can be harder to see in women because of masking. Autistic women may be more likely to copy how other people behave, appear to cope well socially, go quiet and hide their feelings in hard situations, and show fewer repetitive behaviours.

Autistic women are also more likely to have a mental health condition such as anxiety, depression or an eating disorder. Sometimes these are noticed first, and the autism underneath is missed.

A diagnosis in adulthood can bring huge relief: “So that’s why.” It can also bring grief for the support you didn’t get, or anger at being missed. Both are normal.

Things that can help

• Learning about your brain from trusted sources and other women with lived experience
• Letting go of old labels like “lazy” or “too sensitive”
• Asking for changes at work or school that suit how you think
• Finding a therapist who understands neurodivergent women

Puberty changes bodies at different speeds, and most teen girls are on social media many times a day. Edited photos can make normal bodies feel “wrong”.

Stretch marks, a softer tummy, scars from a C-section, changing breasts: these are common after pregnancy. Pressure to “get your body back” can add to stress at an already hard time.

Gentler ideas

• Buy a few comfy clothes that fit your body now
• Move for energy and mood, not to shrink
• Mute accounts selling “bounce back” plans
• Remember what your body has done

Menopause can bring weight gain around the tummy, thinning hair and dry skin. These changes are common, and they can affect how you feel about yourself.

Older women may feel invisible, or pressured to look younger. Wherever you are in life, it is never too late to treat your body more kindly.

Ideas

• Notice the things your body still lets you enjoy
• Spend time with people who value you for who you are
• Push back on jokes about ageing bodies, including your own

Many young people feel deeply worried about climate change. In a 2021 survey of 10,000 people aged 16 to 25 in ten countries, 59% were very or extremely worried, and more than 45% said these feelings affected their daily life.

For some, these worries raise painful questions about whether to have children, or what kind of world their children will grow up in. These are thoughtful, caring questions, not signs that something is wrong with you.

What can help

• Talking it through with a partner or friend, without pressure to decide now
• Separating what you can influence from what you can’t
• Taking action with others, which can ease helplessness
• Limiting doom-scrolling, especially before bed
• Talking with a therapist if worry is affecting sleep, relationships or daily life

Women are more likely than men to live with several long-term pain conditions, including migraine, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis. Migraine is about three times more common in women.

Pain and mental health are closely linked. Chronic pain raises the risk of depression and anxiety, and it often disturbs sleep. In 2021, about 20.9% of U.S. adults lived with chronic pain.

Supports that can help

• Psychological therapies like CBT, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and mindfulness
• Physical or occupational therapy
• Gentle, regular movement and stress management
• Massage, biofeedback or meditation
• Support groups for people living with the same condition

Cleveland Clinic psychologists say “empty nest syndrome” is not a clinical diagnosis, but the feelings are very real. Sadness, worry and a kind of grief when children leave home are a normal part of this change.

Things that can help

• Stay connected with your child in ways that suit you both
• Talk with your partner or friends about how you feel
• Pick up something you set aside while raising children
• Plan small things to look forward to

If you have spent years putting others first, you may not be sure what you enjoy any more. That is common, and it can be the start of something good.

Questions to explore

• What did I love doing at 10, 20 or 30?
• What would I try if no one was watching?
• Who makes me feel most like myself?
• What do I want the next 10 years to hold?

Later life can bring the loss of a partner or friends, living alone, money worries or health problems. Low mood that lasts for weeks is not a normal part of ageing, and talking therapies work at any age.

Things that help

• Staying connected: calls, visits, clubs, faith groups or volunteering
• Learning something new
• Gentle, regular movement
• Sharing your experience with younger women

About 1 in 8 women with a recent live birth in the U.S. report symptoms of postpartum depression, and anxiety is also common. These conditions are not caused by anything a mother did.

Hormone changes around periods, after birth and in perimenopause can bring on depression in some women. Brushing these off as “just hormones” can stop women getting help that works.

Many women are used to looking after everyone else. But depression is a medical condition, not a weakness, and even the most severe depression can be treated.

Some mood swings are normal around menopause. But intense irritability, anxiety, sadness or loss of enjoyment may be signs of depression. Talking therapies like CBT can help.

About one in ten dads experiences postpartum depression. When one parent is struggling, the other is more likely to be struggling too, so it helps to check on both.

Severe period pain can be a sign of endometriosis, which affects about 1 in 10 women of reproductive age. Diagnosis often takes 4 to 12 years, partly because period pain is downplayed.

Some parents feel close straight away; for others the bond grows over weeks or months. Every parent bonds at their own pace, including after a C-section or time apart for medical care.

Pick a calm, private moment. Say what you’ve noticed with kindness, then let her talk. You don’t need answers. Feeling heard is often the first step to feeling better.

Words that can help

• “You’re doing so much. How are you, really?”
• “I believe you.”
• “This isn’t your fault.”
• “You’re a good mom. Struggling doesn’t change that.”
• “What would help most this week?”
• “Do you want me to come with you to the appointment?”

If she shares scary, unwanted thoughts about the baby, stay calm. These thoughts are common after birth, and being upset by them is a good sign. Thank her for telling you, and help her talk to a perinatal mental health professional.

Try to avoid

• “You should be grateful.” / “At least the baby is healthy.”
• “It’s just your hormones.”
• “Everything happens for a reason.” (after a loss)
• “Just relax and it will happen.” (about fertility)
• “When are you having another?”
• “You’re overreacting.” (about harassment)
• Comments about her body, weight or how tired she looks

If you’ve said something that landed badly, it’s okay to say, “I’m sorry, that came out wrong. I want to understand.” Repairing is part of caring.

Ideas

• Take a night feed so she can sleep a long stretch
• Bring a meal, do a grocery run, or fold the laundry
• Watch the kids so she can go to an appointment or have an hour alone
• Help find a therapist or support group, and make the first call with her
• Drive her to appointments, including fertility clinic visits
• Remember hard dates, like a due date for a baby who was lost

Instead of “Let me know if you need anything,” try a specific offer: “I’m bringing dinner Tuesday. Is 6 okay?” It is much easier to say yes to.

Get urgent help if she

• Sees or hears things that aren’t there, or believes things that seem very unlikely
• Seems confused, very “high,” or isn’t sleeping at all
• Talks about harming herself or the baby, or seems calm about such thoughts
• Talks about wanting to die or being a burden

Stay with her, don’t leave her alone with the baby, speak calmly, and call 911 or go to the emergency room.

Watching someone you love struggle is hard. Partners of new mothers can become depressed themselves, and families of women who have had postpartum psychosis are often deeply shaken. Your wellbeing matters too.

Look after yourself

• Share the load with other family and friends
• Get some sleep and real meals
• Talk to someone you trust about how you’re feeling
• Reach out to the PSI HelpLine, which supports partners and families too
• See your own clinical provider if you feel low or anxious for weeks

Postpartum Support International runs more than 50 free online support groups led by trained facilitators, including groups for dads. Many hospitals, libraries and community centers also host parent-and-baby meetups.

Joining a support group for new parents is one of the things that can ease postpartum anxiety.

Practical help from family and friends is one of the most useful supports after a baby, a loss or during caregiving. A neighbour who takes the kids for an hour can give you the rest you need.

Ideas

• Set up a meal schedule for a friend with a new baby
• Start a regular walk with a friend
• Swap childcare with another parent
• Send a “thinking of you” message on hard dates, like the anniversary of a loss

Talking to others going through the same thing, like friends or colleagues, can help with the mood side of menopause.

Ideas

• A workplace menopause support group
• A walking or exercise group for women in midlife
• An online community that shares tips and stories

Many faith and cultural groups have women’s circles, parent groups or volunteers who bring meals and visit. If talking about mental health feels hard in your community, starting with one trusted person is enough.