Women's mental health
Guides, self-checks, and support for depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and mental health during and after pregnancy, with the research behind them.
Practical guides
In-depth articles: what to know, what to ask, and where to get help. Every fact is sourced. All articles
- Finding mental health care: what to do after a self-checkA self-check score is a starting point, not a diagnosis. How to talk with a clinician, find a therapist, get low-cost care, and know which line to call.
- Panic attacks: what they are and what to doWhat a panic attack is, how it can feel like a heart attack, what may help in the moment, and how panic disorder is treated.
- Trauma and PTSD in women: after assault, abuse, and other traumaStrong reactions after trauma are common, and most people recover. What PTSD is, why women are more affected, how it's treated, and where to get help.
- Postpartum depression vs. the baby bluesThe baby blues fade within about 2 weeks. Postpartum depression lasts longer, is more severe, and is treatable. How to tell them apart and where to get help.
- Postpartum anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and perinatal OCDWorry and scary, unwanted thoughts about a baby are common after birth. How anxiety and perinatal OCD differ from depression and psychosis, and how to get help.
- Perimenopause and mental healthDepression and anxiety risk can rise in the years before menopause. What the research shows, why it gets missed, and what treatment options sources describe.
- PMDD: when it's more than PMSPremenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a recognized depressive disorder, not "bad PMS." What it is, how it's diagnosed, and which treatments have evidence.
- Eating disorders in adult women: not just a teen problemEating disorders affect women in midlife and beyond, not only teens. What research shows about adult women, warning signs, health risks, and treatment.
- ADHD and autism in girls and women: why they're often missedGirls and women with ADHD or autism are often diagnosed later, or not at all. What the data show, how signs can look different, and what to ask.
- Hormonal birth control and mood: what the research showsLarge studies link hormonal birth control with a higher risk of depression in some users, especially teens. Other studies don't. What's known and what to ask.
- Social media and teen girls' mental health: what we knowWhat the U.S. Surgeon General, the CDC, and researchers say about social media and teen girls: the risks, the benefits, and what's still unknown.
Also useful
- Pregnancy loss: physical recovery, emotional health, and when to get careMiscarriage and stillbirth: warning signs that need care now, what causes loss, treatment options, physical recovery, grief, and where to find support.Body & health
What you can do
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Worried about someone?
Five action steps from the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
How to help someone elseSupport is available
See all support options, questions to ask your doctor, or how to help someone else.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. Free and confidential. ASL via videophone.11
Call or text 988Crisis Text Line
Text HOME to 741741 or chat at connect.crisistextline.org. Free and confidential, with trained volunteer crisis counselors. En español: text HOLA to 741741.31
Chat onlineNational Maternal Mental Health Hotline
Call 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262) or text 1-833-852-6262. Free and confidential. English and Spanish. TTY: use a relay service or dial 711, then 1-833-852-6262.10
Call 1-833-TLC-MAMAPostpartum Support International HelpLine
Call 1-800-944-4773 or text "Help" to 800-944-4773 (English) or 971-203-7773 (Spanish). English and Spanish. Does not handle emergencies; in a crisis, call 988 or 911.29
Call 1-800-944-4773If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
What the research shows
The evidence behind this topic. Global figures unless labeled U.S. Superscripts link to the full source list. Use "Save image" to share a stat.
Depression is about 1.5 times more common among women than men. In 2023 it affected an estimated 6.2% of adult women vs. 4.1% of men worldwide.
More than 10% of pregnant women and women who have just given birth experience depression worldwide.
U.S.About 1 in 8 women with a recent live birth report symptoms of postpartum depression.
U.S.Mental health conditions, including suicide and overdose related to substance use disorder, caused 22.5% of pregnancy-related deaths in 2021, second only to infection (including COVID-19).
U.S.of U.S. women had an anxiety disorder in the past year in a national survey (2001–2003), compared with 14.3% of men.
U.S.About 8 in 100 women will have PTSD at some point in their lives, twice the rate for men (about 4 in 100).
U.S.of U.S. high school girls reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2025, compared with 24% of boys.
U.S.Only about 56% of U.S. women with a mental illness received mental health treatment in the past year. More than 4 in 10 did not.
U.S.Anorexia nervosa was three times more common over a lifetime among U.S. women (0.9%) than men (0.3%) in a national survey (2001–2003).
A 2024 review of 44 studies found premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) in about 3.2% of participants with a confirmed diagnosis, and 1.6% in community-based samples.
You're not imagining it
Common things women hear, and what the data says.
Myth
Depression affects women and men about equally.
Fact
Depression is about 1.5 times more common among women than men. In 2023 it affected an estimated 6.2% of adult women vs. 4.1% of men worldwide.2
Myth
Depression after having a baby is rare.
Fact
U.S.About 1 in 8 women with a recent live birth report symptoms of postpartum depression.13
Myth
Women with a mental illness usually get the care they need.
Fact
Only about 56% of U.S. women with a mental illness received mental health treatment in the past year. More than 4 in 10 did not.18
Myth
Teen girls and boys struggle with sadness at about the same rate.
Fact
43% of U.S. high school girls reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2025, compared with 24% of boys.17