Helen Blair Simpson, M.D., Ph.D., is Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical College (CUIMC), the Director of the Center for the OCD and Related Disorders at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and the co-research director of the New York Presbyterian’s Center for Youth Mental Health. Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) since 1999, she uses clinical trials to identify the best treatments for anxiety and OCD.
Article5 min read
Raising Awareness about Women’s Mental Health
- Helen Blair Simpson MD PhD
- C Neill Epperson MD
- Mathilde Husky PhD
- Wenting Mu PhD
- Roseli Gedanke Shavitt MD PhD
- 5
Anxiety and depression are among the most common mental health concerns worldwide. Feeling worried or sad from time to time is part of life. But when these feelings last, feel overwhelming, or start to affect sleep, relationships, work or self-esteem, they can become harder to manage alone.
As Dr. Helen Blair Simpson, Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), Director of the Center for OCD and Related Disorders and ADAA Ambassador for Women’s Mental Health notes: “Research shows that about 1 in 3 women will experience an anxiety or depressive disorder in their lifetime. This means that nearly every woman will either face these struggles herself or have friends and family members who will.”
Women’s experiences of anxiety and depression can be shaped by many factors: what happens in their bodies, what they go through in life, and the expectations they face every day. Understanding these factors can help make it easier to recognize when support may be needed.
Why Anxiety and Depressive Disorders are more common in women
There is no single reason why anxiety and depression affect women more often. These conditions can be influenced by a combination of biological, emotional, environmental, and social factors.
Family history can play a role. People with a parent or close relative who has experienced anxiety may be more likely to experience it themselves. Difficult life events, trauma, and poor sleep can also make feelings of anxiety worse or harder to manage.
Research also suggests that differences in brain structure and chemistry may play a part in anxiety. Yet every experience is personal and can be shaped by several factors over time.
As Dr. Neill Epperson, the Robert Freedman Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado (USA) and a leading expert in psychoneuroendocrinology and women’s brain health notes:
“There are numerous reasons why females are more likely than males to experience depression and anxiety disorders, including differences in our lived experiences, genetic makeup, reproductive hormones, and response to stress and trauma contribute to this gender bias.”
Barriers to Mental Health Support for Women
Across life stages and cultures, women may feel expected to keep everything together: to be strong, to hold it, to carry, to minimize it—even when they are not feeling that way inside.
In a 2026 Ipsos study commissioned by Lancôme among 4,000 women across four countries, 80% of women said they had answered “I’m fine” when they were not, and nearly half said they do so often (47%). But 72% of women said they regret hiding how they truly felt. These figures suggest that silence is not simply an individual choice. It can also reflect wider social expectations for women to be resilient and available to others, regardless of what they may be experiencing internally.
Stigma can deepen this silence. More than half cited not wanting to burden others as a key reason for keeping their feelings to themselves. According to Dr. Mathilde Husky, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology at the Université de Bordeaux (France) and a leading expert in depression, anxiety, and stress-related conditions:
“In France, mental health problems continue to be stigmatized, shaping public attitudes and self-perceptions that discourage disclosure and help-seeking. Reproductive milestones—puberty, pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, childbirth, and menopause—are associated with increased risk of distress. Yet, they are still difficult for women to talk about in French society, further discouraging help-seeking.”
Husky adds:
“Many survivors of domestic or sexual violence also face victim-blaming or institutional minimization when engaging with the judicial system, which reinforces silence and contributes to untreated psychological distress."
Alongside societal expectations, women can experience important hormonal transitions throughout life, including puberty, pregnancy, the postpartum period and menopause. These changes can influence mood, energy and the way the body responds to stress.
Dr. Epperson adds:
“The female brain has to be incredibly flexible to manage exposure to almost daily and sometimes dramatic changes in ovarian hormones that greatly affect neurochemistry, nerve cell structure, and overall brain function. I refer to this as the Fantastically Flexible Female Brain.”
Hormonal changes do not determine a woman’s mental health. However, they can make some women more sensitive to stress, trauma and mood shifts at particular moments in life. Recognizing these experiences can help women approach their mental well-being with greater compassion and seek appropriate professional support when needed.
Practical barriers can also make support feel out of reach. In some communities, quality mental health care may be limited or too expensive. In others, women may not know what resources are available. In the Ipsos study, among women who said they were not paying enough attention to their mental health, 35% cited a lack of time and 28% cited financial constraints as barriers.
Taking the First Step Towards Better Mental Health
Awareness is an important first step in helping women speak openly and encouraging them to say when they are not feeling well. Recognizing when anxiety or sadness feels “too much” can help women identify when it may be time to speak with a qualified healthcare professional.
As Dr. Catherine Harmer, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Oxford University (England) and a leading expert on the cognitive mechanisms underlying depression and anxiety, states:
“Everyone feels sad or anxious at times, and these feelings can even help us cope and respond to challenges. But they may become a problem if they persist for weeks at a time, feel overwhelming or unbearable, and start getting in the way of us being able to do our everyday activities.”
Paying attention to changes in mood, sleep, or energy levels can support greater self-awareness. Tools such as the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) for depression and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) for anxiety can also help women put words to what they are feeling and prepare for a conversation with a healthcare professional.
“The PHQ 8 has been translated into over 100 languages, enabling its application in diverse cultural and linguistic settings. The GAD 7 has been validated in differing age groups and cultural contexts and is widely used for screening anxiety and assessing its severity,” says Dr. Roseli Shavitt, Assistant Physician and Collaborating Professor at the Institute & Department of Psychiatry for the University of Sao Paulo Medical School (Brazil), and a leading expert in anxiety and OCD.
Shavitt adds:
“These self-reports can empower women by providing a clearer understanding of their mental health symptoms, fostering self-awareness, and opening the door to honest conversations with healthcare providers and loved ones. Ideally, results from self-reports should be paired with professional assessment to ensure meaningful patient care, especially in sensitive individual cases.”
These self-assessments are useful screening tools, but they are not intended to provide a diagnosis on their own. They can help someone recognize symptoms and open the door to an appropriate professional assessment.
As Dr. Wenting Mu, an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Tsinghua University (China) and an expert in methods for screening and prevention of depression and anxiety importantly reminds us:
“Taking care of your mind is not selfish, it is one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself and to those you love. A mentally healthy woman raises stronger children, builds more resilient families, and helps shape a more compassionate world. Women nurture not only children, but also pass on mental strength, values, and wisdom to the next generation. In this way, women carry hope, resilience, and prosperity for the future of our society.”
You are not alone. Education, open conversations, social support and access to appropriate care can all help women take action for their mental health.
Take the first step towards better mental health, check in on yourself today.
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