COVID-19 Pandemic Leads to Record High Levels of Stress, Anxiety, and More Among Women Worldwide

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought on a number of unexpected challenges for all of us. Many have lost their jobs, experienced relocation, and suffered financial losses due to the pandemic’s impact. It has been a difficult and stressful time for everyone. In a recent, large study on women’s well-being, it was found that levels of stress, anxiety, worry, sadness, and anger among women worldwide reached a 10-year high in 2021 after the pandemic.

The Hologic Global Women’s Health Index, which conducts an annual survey to gather data on women’s health and well-being, found that levels of worry, stress, and anger rose by 3%, while sadness rose by 6% in 2021 compared to 2020. These are all record highs since the Index began tracking emotional health almost a decade ago. The survey, which included 66,000 women from 122 countries, also reported that 43% of respondents said they experienced some form of worry in 2021, 41% reported feeling stressed, 32% reported feeling sad, and 26% reported feeling angry.

This trend is likely due to the fact that traditional gender roles often place a disproportionate burden on women, who are often responsible for caregiving and ensuring that their children are well-fed and healthy. This can be especially overwhelming for women who also have to work and juggle multiple responsibilities. Dr Elizabeth Fitelson, the director of the women’s program at Columbia University’s psychiatry department, explains that these burdens are often felt even in high-resourced countries. It is crucial that we address this issue and work towards gender equality in order to improve the emotional well-being of both men and women.

Read: 5 simple strategies for reducing stress in the new year

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