Any form of sustained stimulus is proven to cause changes in brain chemistry and form; this applies to any and every stimulus present around us and is responsible for certain conditioning. The type of conditioning that happens is largely responsible for creating memories and opportunities which decide the kind of life a person lives. Continuous exposure to stressful and discriminatory or oppressive situations leads a person to live in high alert, which is mentally and emotionally very taxing.
In case of women, almost every single woman faces some kind of discrimination before she is even ten. Such kind of exposure to unfair situations may lead women to doubt themselves, to overwork themselves to just prove their worth, all of which have very harmful effects in the long run. Due to the patriarchal structure of our society, women have to work themselves to the bones to achieve their dreams and even then, they are not taken seriously and seen as intimidating bossy women. Whereas men never have to face the gender discrimination obstacle and are respected after they achieve their goals. These double standards are highly disturbing and very frustrating for women who work hard.
This often leads to bad cases of imposter syndrome, stress, burnout and so much more. Women are twice as likely to have a mental illness than men, and the constant discrimination they face certainly must have some role to play in it. Right from childhood from being told the toys they should play with to what they should and shouldn’t wear right up to what they should study and who they should marry. These are just some general examples every woman will relate to, hundreds more being experienced by women in their life. Hence, we should be more empathetic to women’s struggles, providing them with as many resources to help with their mental health as possible.