Women dealing with endometriosis, ovarian cysts, and various hormone-related ailments face a troubling rise in anxiety, depression, and self-harm, underscoring the urgent need for mental health services to be woven into women’s physical healthcare plans.
A report released on Tuesday by Women’s Mental Health Australia revealed that nearly 50% of women with endometriosis suffer from anxiety.
Women diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome endure depression and anxiety at rates double those of women without such conditions.
The study exposes critical shortfalls in the healthcare system across Australia, according to Katrina Locandro, the chief operating officer.
“The scale of the issue is massive,” she shared with the Australian Associated Press.
“The government’s investing a lot in women’s health at the moment… and there is a really practical step that they could be taking to reduce that gap.”
The findings indicate that physical health conditions are associated with poorer mental health.
But the greatest psychological toll is on women living with female-specific physical health conditions, including polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, a broad condition involving a hormone imbalance, irregular periods and ovarian cysts.
Women with that syndrome reported high rates of depression and anxiety, between 1.6 and 2.2 times higher than women who did not have the condition.
The disparity also extended to suicide and self-harm rates, reported by 10 per cent of women with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome and 13 per cent of women with endometriosis, compared with four per cent of women without those conditions.
The research found that one in three women are not seeking help for their mental health issues, often because of financial and stigma-related reasons.
Locandro says every woman attending a government-funded endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic should receive an integrated mental health assessment and support as a standard offering.
“We’re not asking the government to build a new system, we’re asking it to strengthen an existing one by recognising that women’s physical and mental health are inseparable,” she said.
Report co-author Bronwyn Graham said that embedding integrated mental health assessment and support into existing services would be a game-changer.
“Women are being asked to manage two separate journeys, one for their body and one for their mind, and to find their own way between them at the point they are least able to.”