Monika Singh explains issues faced by Indian women

Today we are in conversation with Monika Singh. She is a certified Life Coach and NLP master practitioner. She is a TEDx speaker and author of the best selling book “Formula Of Happiness – the secret within you”. One look at her profile makes it clear that her knowledge of “Life Elevation” is at another level. So this time we decided that instead of asking the (usual) questions, we allow her to do all the talking. We asked her to explain five problems faced by women in India and here is what she has to say.

Hello there, Thanks for inviting me on your platform and for allowing me to do all the talking 🙂

Well, Indian women have a place in society like no other country. There are tribes in Arunachal Pradesh where a woman is the head of the house and men are married into the family. But like women all over the world, the stress and work of looking after family takes its toll. Here are the top five reasons which I feel are responsible for poor mental health of Indian Women.

Wrongly assumed expectations

Most girls and women do not live their lives. They live the expectation of others. Ever since girls are born, society starts to expect from them. Not just this, they start to expect them to behave within that boundaries.

Girls want to do a lot but are not able to because of expectations of people around. Wrongly assumed expectations of people bind girls from doing anything. Women are unable to move forward even if they want to.

Today’s women hesitate to do what’s in their mind whether in family, society or career. Society expect us to be calm and smiling all the time but instead we want to show the anger, hunger & excitement of growth and success. They want us to settle down before 35 and raise kids but instead we want to feel free to choose, when we want to get married , when we want to have kids or no kids. No one wants us to take big decisions of business, society or country but instead we want to let them know our decisions also matters.

Society expects from women to think of her family, her friends, her partner instead of herself. It wants to enforce the concept of thinking about others first instead of herself. Some of these things are not even needed these days, but it is still taught to women.

It is put in our mind since childhood that we should think more about others rather than ourselves and we should avoid taking a big decision, we should only do what others want, we are nothing without men, we are weak, we can’t do this and we can’t do that & blah blah.

The reason why a woman is disconnected with herself is because she is always listening to others. She is disconnected with the beauty that feminism hold and is afraid of choosing herself and her choices. While living others expectations she loses connection with her true nature. This is adding many mental health issues to our lives.

Restrictions by Family and Society

Despite being in the 21st century there still exist some restrictions and a set of rules and regulations, which are specially for women. Anyone who questions them or even breaks a little becomes a monster. When women have broken all boundaries and even made their way to outer space, a thought still prevails in our society that women are destined to be confined within the four walls of the house, and kitchen is their home. Such biases and prejudices against women not only lowers their confidence level, but stops their progress as well. Society imposes their thoughts and limitations on women and there are things which are mostly normal for a man to do, but if in any case a woman dares to do those things, then she is said to bring disgrace to her family & society.

And the pressure from all of these things bring many kind of mental health issues to the women of our society.

Improper diet & overweight

Gastrointestinal tract or our stomach is known as “second brain” and whenever we don’t eat properly or do over eating, it directly affects our emotions and mood. Young women who consume a poor-quality diet and experience nutritional deficiencies may suffer from a higher degree of mental distress, depression and anxiety more than others.

Scientific studies have found that diet impacts men and women differently. While men are more likely to experience mental well being on less healthy diets, until the point of true nutritional deficiencies, women are more likely to require a well-balanced diet and healthy lifestyle in order to maintain mental well-being.

We need to consider a spectrum of dietary and lifestyle changes based on different age groups and gender. There is no one healthy diet that will work for everyone.

Lack of understanding of women needs

Woman have different needs than men, but because we live in a Male dominant society, often needs of women remains unheard or unnoticed.

There are differences between women and men – in everything from how they are lacking participation in various issues of their family, society & country to expressing her own emotional & physical needs. Women are still being judged against a “male” when it comes to many conditions & situations. And as a result, they often tend to have more “mental health” symptoms like stress, depression, anxiety, insomnia etc.

Women are often encouraged to stay protected in the house instead of fighting for their own needs. Women still can’t make decision for their own lives, relationships, finances & career choices. And this is what is leading them to have more mental issues than a man.

Lack of encouragement and support

Most of the time women feels like they aren’t getting enough support. Whether it’s support from their friends, from family, or from someone whose opinion really counts. Lack of support can be a devastating feeling. The urge to scream, “You don’t understand what I’m /feeling/going through!” can be absolutely overwhelming.

Being judged by almost everyone for doing things we really want, or feeling helpless, or expressing ourselves can bring more stress & depression. And top of all not getting any answer to all the questions that we have will not just lead to mental health issues but also to low self esteem, where we stop believing in our own abilities and capabilities. We stop being ourselves, and that’s where all the issues start, and that’s how we learn to hide our real emotions & feelings with other negative emotions like anger, irritation, depression etc.

But luckily for us, there are platforms like “NARISAKTI” where women can come forward and start communicating with other fellow women to discuss & get suggestion for their own needs, where they get the full support without being judged. If you feel a lack of support, “NARISAKTI” will not only help you achieve more and feel better, but can also help you communicate your needs and goals better.