mind.org.uk
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Sexism, stigma and mental health; a study of one
I don’t think it’s possible for me to look at my mental health, and my deeply held self-stigma about it, without recognising the impact that sexism and misogyny has had on me in my lifetime.I mean, I think I was probably a sensitive child and always destined to feel deeply, but I don’t believe that my feelings of anxiety and periods of depression are ‘just’ a biological malfunction. But it has taken years of therapy and, finally, in my late 30’s, an astute trauma informed therapist to help me recognise and accept this.As an eight-year-old girl I witnessed the effect on my mum, of my dad’s long affair with our family friend. Her self-esteem disintegrated with the betrayal and I watched as she sought men to validate her, ultimately ending up in a coercive and controlling relationship with my stepdad.