Mental Health of Mothers

 Mental health of mothers

I have thought about this topic and need to become transparent I have dealt with depression in my life. My dad, mother and sister died years ago, my dad in 2002 and my mother and sister both in 2005.  I fell into a deep depression while trying my very best as a single parent to raise my child.

In 2005, after the death of my sister, there were many times I tried to rest only to wake up not remembering my own child’s name, I‘d wake up yelling for  Shell ( my sister) as if I could feel her in the room. When my daughter came running, it would take me a minute to remember her name and face the fact that my sister died. Months later, I went through the same thing with my mom. This traumatic period in my life affected me mentally and physically getting  out of bed, was a fight. My daughter was sad and worried for me and of course this was a domino effect on her not being around her friends  and school work. Finally, I  got it together for her! .

Below is a website that focus on the varies reasons why women suffer from Mental health.

Women and Mental Health

The mental disorders affecting women include the following:

·         Anxiety Disorders, including OCD, panic, PTSD, social phobia, and generalized anxiety disorders.

·         Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD, ADD)

·         Bipolar Disorder

·         Borderline Personality Disorder

·         Depression

·         Postpartum depression

·         Eating Disorders

·         Schizophrenia

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml

 

 Different Countries

Women in Africa India, and China suffer from depression because of being less valued, social roles and status. High rates of domestic abuse while pregnant  is a leading cause of depression, while infant deaths are also a great factor. Woman have been given the tools to understand and recognizes the symptoms and signs. Yet dealing with pregnancy and after birth in the situations they live in without support  sometimes leads to suicide.

http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/Perinatal_depression_mmh_final.pdf

 

How can I make an impact for future work? The foundation has been laid with centers like Women helping women and   Help clinics ran through community churches. My part is being a resource  and for the small groups that I’m in, I’ll  touch on this topic as an  invitation to share.