Women’s Mental Health Free Essay Sample

Women’s mental health has often been overlooked and swept under the rug . A condition that is considered normal is the post-partum depression that comes after a woman gives birth . Over the years , women have been given the “Rest Cure” treatment. The Rest Cure treatment is ineffective . “The Yellow Wall-Paper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman illustrates a story of a woman that is an example of the rest cure treatment being ineffective. She was praised for feminist works. Her mother showed very little affection to her and discouraged her from making friends or reading . Gilman pushed for equal treatment of women and breaking out of stereotypical roles. Biographies, historical, and cultural context will be used to support this thesis.

When reading “The Yellow Wall-Paper,” it is important to understand that the author , Charlotte Perkins Gilman, suffered a lot during her life that led to her mental illness. There is a biography of Gilman online on Literary Ladies Guide that was published by Nava Atlas. We learn about her life and things that may have been a factor of her mental illness later down the road. The article is titled, “Charlotte Perkins Gilman, feminist Author for The Yellow Wallpaper”. It is a biography that breaks down her life from birth to death. The biography tells us that Gilman was born on July 3rd, 1860 in Hartford, Connecticut and praised for her feminist works. The article informs us that, “Her father abandoned the family when she was an infant. (par.2). This lets us know that Gilman dealt with abandonment at a young age. Dealing with abandonment at a young age could cause issues in adult life. The article says, “Her mother showed very little affection for her and for her brother, yet discouraged them from making friends or reading” (par.6). This allows readers to see that Gilman did not have a good relationship with either of her parents. Thus, affecting her mental health later in her life. The article says that, “Gilman pushed for equal treatment of women and breaking out of stereotypical roles” (par.1). This allows us to see that Gilman wanted people to be treated fairly and not judged because of their gender. This article illustrates a picture of a woman that did not have loving parents and suffered because of it. 

Gilman shows us that women’s mental health has been overlooked and history proves this. In “The Yellow Wall-Paper” , she had a baby and wasn’t responding well to it . She got sent to a ward where they won’t let her see her baby . She started hallucinating while undergoing a treatment that was making her condition worse. In this story , she knocks out her doctor and crawls over him . This is a sign of mental illness . She says , “ the paper changes as the light changes”. (pg.7) This is in fact not true and shows us that she is hallucinating. Another sign of hallucination is when she says , “ The front pattern does move and no wonder ! The woman behind shakes it !” (pg.8). She has an incident where she is losing her mind and says , “and then I got so angry I bit off a little piece at one corner - but it hurt my teeth '' (pg.9). Many men have tried to prove with scientific evidence that a woman with hysteria’s body was sick and needed a man to satisfy it . There is an article on the National Library of Medicine. It is entitled , “Women and Hysteria in the History of Mental Health”. It was published by Tasca Cecilia. The article says that , “The first to use this theory of hysteria was Karin Papyrus in 1900 BC, who identified the cause of hysterical disorder in spontaneous uterus movement within a woman’s body (par.5). This allows us to see that people did little to no research on women and went off of their thoughts with no scientific evidence. This led to women being told to rest with no actual cure for their hysteria. 

Gilman depicts her doctor in her ward as a medial villain and the rest cure as a Gothic torture.  Her doctor forced people on a diet if they did not want to eat . He was generally more sympathetic toward the nervous men in his care . He usually puts anxious women to bed . We can see this being illustrated in the story . In the story she says , “ it is getting to be a great effort for me to think straight, just this nervous weakness I suppose” (pg.7) . Male patients could choose between rest or journeying West . Another example of her doctor putting anxious women to bed was when she says , “he says that with my imaginative power and habit of story-making , a nervous weakness like mine is sure to lead all manner of excited fancies, and that I ought to use my will and good sense to check the tendency”(pg.3). This part of the passage illustrates a picture that her doctor belittled women’s medical conditions and believed that they just needed rest. In the text she says , “I am getting angry enough to do something desperate” (pg.9). This shows us that the rest cure treatment is ineffective and is in fact making the patient lose her mind .

The biography of Charlotte Perkins Gilman proves that women's mental health is often overlooked and swept under the rug. It allows us to see that Gilman had a mother that did not want her to socialize and make friends. This was a part of what affected her mental health and harmed her in the long run. Biographies allow for us to analyze a person's life to see how it affected them and their path. Learning someone's biography is an essential part in learning why something happened in their life the way that it did. Historical context used in this essay helps prove my thesis because it illustrates a picture that shows us the type of methods and cures people have given women as a remedy for their hysteria since the beginning of time. The historical context shows us that men have often told women to rest or tried to blame their hysteria on not being satisfied by a man. It is essential to understand historical context because it is the foundation of what researchers or healthcare professionals use in today's society. Cultural context used in this essay proves that women's mental health was often overlooked. It shows us the type of remedies given to women to "cure" their hysteria. Remedies were often essential oils and being put to rest. Women's mental health has been swept under the rug and over-looked for centuries. Understanding this text is important because women play a vital role in society. If women are not being properly taken care of, everything can fall apart because they are the child bearers. Many women suffer in silence because they know that they will not be heard. I believe that everyone should get educated on women's hysteria because it is not talked about enough.