Stress levels rising among women

One in four women say their mental health has declined since the recession.

An Irish Countrywomen Association mental health survey, in collaboration with Newstalk, found finances caused the most stress.

One woman said: “The bills seem to be piling up while the wages are declining.”

Another woman, recently widowed, worried about her finances, while a mother said she was helping her son pay a mortgage before becoming redundant.

“He was self-employed in construction and is not entitled to any retraining,” she said.

After finance, relationships and health issues were the biggest causes of stress, with one in five women citing each issue.

However, one third described their mental health as very good.

Over one in five took medication and the same number had visited a therapist to treat a mental health issue.

Almost all of the women (92.4%) believed Irishmen bottle up their feelings.

ICA national president Liz Wall said she felt saddened after reading the results of the survey.

Ms Wall has made mental health a priority within the ICA by way of a number of initiatives since the start of her presidency in May.

“The financial implications of the recession and the levels of emigration have severely impacted the lives and mental health of our members and all Irish families,” said Ms Wall.

However, 43% of women living in a rural location believed the weather, rather than long working hours, has had a negative effect on people’s mental health.

One in seven said that stress was the main cause of anxiety and depression, and a similar number blamed alcohol or drug abuse.

Nine out of 10 of the 340 women who took part in the survey believed there was a stigma attached to mental health problems.

More than one in five said it would be better to go to prison than a mental institution because the stigma was not as great.

More than one in three said they had a mental health issue, while almost one in six said a friend or relative has had similar health problems.

A third believed that reporting on cases of suicide in the media and communities romanticised the event.

Just over 25% of the women surveyed disagreed with the question on suicide while just over 40% said they did not know.