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Health and mental illness are hot topics in the womens health field. Want proof? The World Health Organization, United Nations and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services all have web pages dedicated specifically to mental illness in women. Thats because mental health has a very significant impact on a womans overall health, how her body functions and even her ability to reproduce.

Mental Health and Mental Illness in Women

We all know that men and women are affected differently by mental illness and mental health disorders. While some disorders like depression and anxiety are more prevalent in women, women also show different symptoms and researchers are studying the different psychosocial and biological factors that affect a womans mental health and mental illness.

Common mental disorders in women include: Depression, Anxiety Disorders, like OCD, social phobias, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder and eating disorders.

Health and Mental Illness- Chicken and the Egg Scenario?

Are women who suffer with chronic health conditions more likely to suffer from a behavioral health disorder or are women suffering from behavioral health disorder more likely to suffer from significant physical health concerns? It can be difficult to determine which is a symptom and which is a cause. What we do know is that women with chronic health conditions tend to be at high risk for behavioral health disorders and women suffering from behavioral health disorders may increase their risk for physical health conditions, such as obesity or migraine headaches.

Reproductive Health and Mental Illness

Stress has a significant impact on a womans body. Stress and co-occurring issues like depression and anxiety can make it difficult for a womans body to regulate hormones, making her menstrual cycle unpredictable or even irregular. Many women experience depression and anxiety disorders during and after pregnancy. Normal hormonal changes during and after pregnancy or menopause can mimic they symptoms of depression, making it very confusing for a woman to determine if she is suffering from a physical health issue or a mental health disorder. Hormone and talk therapy are useful for women suffering from both physical health and mental illness, especially as it relates to menstruation, pregnancy, infertility and menopause.

Female Veterans and Behavioral Health Disorders

While post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can happen to anyone, it is common among soldiers or law enforcement personnel who experience traumatic or emotionally stressful situations. Women with health and mental illness http://www.womensdrugrehab.com/womens-drug-rehab concerns after the military can seek help from a variety of public and private veterans services that are specially equipped to handle the stress of returning home and reuniting with family.

By : Benjamin Brafman
Article source : The Link Between Womens Health and Mental Illness

Women need to periodically visit an Obstetrician or a Gynecologist for pelvic scans or for taking a Pap test, especially if they are 21 years of age or older. Any study on womens health would surely delve into the rise of cancer as a dangerous illness that may lead to death and is second only to heart diseases in terms of most occurring illnesses.

Knowing the Facts

Womens health is directly impacted by cancer which is thought to have been diagnosed in more than a million people in the United States, though it is certain that cancer affliction can be drastically reduced by adopting healthier lifestyles, improving nutrition and avoiding being exposed to the sun. In addition, cancer screening, information regarding cancer as well as referral services would all help to significantly improve womens health.

Women who have attained the age of 65 years or who are older are believed to make up half of the new breast cancer cases every year and the number for older women having breast cancer is expected to double by the year 2030 as the baby boomers age. The anomaly is that younger women who have breast cancer receive better care than their older counterparts, even though women want their physicians to look at the disease not their dates of birth.

Worldwide, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer afflicting womens health and is thought to have affected one out of every 11-12 women at some stage of their lives in the Western hemisphere, and in spite of significant efforts being made to achieve early detection and provide effectual treatment, supposedly about 20% of all women having breast cancer would die as a result of this disease.

To detect cases of breast cancer it is necessary to have screening performed which includes breast self-examination and mammography though only the latter has been found to lessen mortality from breast cancer. Womens health needs aids such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect cancers that are not visible through mammography methods.

Besides cancer, another cause of worry regarding womens health is diabetes, and to fight this disease the National Public Health Initiative on Diabetes and Womens health have made a television video on diabetes and womens health and this video highlights the tales regarding women which gives hope and encouragement to women as well as their families in coping with diabetes. Bottom line: for good health, it is important to educate oneself.

Authors Resource Box

Roland Parris Jefferson III is an online researcher based out of Los Angeles, California. For free tips, resources and expert advice on Womens Health, please visit our Womens Health Resource.

Article Source: Womens Health - Detecting And Treating Breast Cancer

Author : Roland Parris Jefferson III