Let’s reframe and reclaim women’s mental health
Are you tired of feeling shame about mental illness? Have you spent years in the mental health system getting dismissed or misdiagnosed? In this newsletter you’ll get the opportunity to learn about critical issues at the intersection of gender and mental health—and why your problems are not just “all in your head.” It’s my aim to provide insightful analysis, research findings, and empowering narratives, enabling you to advocate for more equitable and holistic approaches to your mental wellbeing.
How did I get here?
Hi, I’m Misty and I’m a science communicator, researcher and writer.
In my teens years I had what I fondly refer to as my “nervous breakdown.” I realize that’s not an official mental disorder diagnosis, but that’s exactly what it felt like to me—that my nervous system went haywire. I entered out-patient treatment at a local hospital and spent a year working with a child psychologist.
But my journey didn’t end there. I continued to experience relapses of anxiety and depression throughout my twenties and early thirties. The message I received from well-meaning health professionals was that I had a biological illness—a chemical imbalance in my brain. I was also told I had inherited this problem, likely from my grandmother, who was diagnosed with biopolar disorder in her mid-fifties.
So I did all the things I was told would help me: I took the meds; I saw all the therapists (so many therapists!) But nothing seemed to help, at least not for long. I always ended up back at square one.
Until it finally dawned on me that maybe my mental illness wasn’t a biological flaw or a genetic mishap. Maybe what I was experiencing was a normal response to an abnormal situation.
I was living in a world in which girls and women are not safe. A world where we are more likely to experience sexual violence, harassment, poverty, financial stress, and disproportionate caregiving burdens. This is not a world that is conducive to good mental health.
And I finally got it: it’s not me, it’s THEM.
This realization changed so much for me and led me down a path of healing. By healing, I don’t mean “cured.” I still experience anxiety and depression at times, but what has changed is how I relate to the label of “mental illness.”
I no longer believe that what I experience is an inherent flaw in me, because women have always been told something is wrong with us. From ancient Egypt and Greece to early Biblical times and beyond, women have been led to believe that our problems are related to our bodies: wandering wombs, evil spirits, weak nerves, and imbalanced chemicals and hormones are all explanations that have been proposed for why we suffer psychologically and physically.
But this is all to mask an inconvenient truth: that we suffer because we are not valued in our culture.
I wrote a book about my story, and about stories from women all over the world. I also dove into the latest scientific research to examine how we can move forward as a culture, and finally reclaim women’s mental health.
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Misty
