Mostly True Information about HFGWD Presents: Lies about Women
1. EXHAUSTION. We expect women to be tired. Exhaustion doesn’t register as a warning sign, but it should. Being tired all the time isn’t normal, it’s a symptom.
2. HURT. We expect women to be emotional, so when we’re hurt or crying it gets dismissed as one of the cliches of being female. Emotions are normal but reoccurring hurt and suffering aren’t, they are clues that it’s time for change.
3. LONELINESS. We expect the lives of women to be narrowly focused on doing and caring for others. When we withdraw from social activities and friends it gets written off as the price she pays for being a #momstar #bosslady #HBIC. But isolation and loneliness are not standard, they are dangerous risk factors for depression and suicide.
4. VAGINAS. The world has decided menstruation is supposed to suck. When it’s erratic or altogether missing, we ignore it. But an imbalance in your menstrual cycle is a red flag (no pun intended). If your cycle is off, something inside your body needs your attention.
5. HORMONES. No matter a girl’s age, we chalk mood changes up to hormone changes rather than investigating other, potentially serious, suspects. Undeniably, hormones impact women but, P.S. men experience hormone imbalances also, and you never hear anyone calling them “hormonal.”
6. SUFFERING. We have normalized the suffering of women. If a man walked into a doctors office in tears with reports of recurrent headaches and spotting from his sex organ, the full force of medical science would be unleashed on him. Tests would be run, ultrasounds ordered, specialists consulted. When a woman presents with those identical symptoms, it’s called a “routine” visit.
In summary, girls can’t get diagnosed or treated for depression if we keep mislabeling their symptoms as the fallout of being a woman.