Top 7 Reasons to Consult Women's Mental Health Psychiatrist in Bethesda

Stress can be summarized as the physical or emotional responses to events or situations that make you nervous, scared, frustrated, or unhappy. However, occasional episodes of stress can influence your performance positively, like a meeting or a race; a prolonged period of mental duress or stress impacts your body adversely, therefore arising the need to consult with a Women's Mental Health psychiatrist in Bethesda.

Although women and men would experience stress, it can manifest variedly in both genders. Stress affects women in numerous ways that are more severe than men. Straightforwardly, stress would damage a woman in numerous ways, both mentally and physically.

1. Emotional effects

The highly distinctive stressful effect on women depends mainly on their emotional health. It would often make them moody, sad, emotional, or even more irritable than they are during their days of stress. They may even find the activities with less pressure overwhelming. A few would often depend on substances, leading to abuse and creating huge room for health conditions.

2. Headaches

The most common kind of trigger for headaches is stress, often leading to dull throbbing, migraines, or even tightness in the head. There are times when it would often lead to shoulder pain interfering with a person's daily functionality.

3. Cardiac issues

Women are at a greater risk for heart attacks due to stress, irrespective of men. Cortisol, or the stress hormone, would narrow the arteries over the entire duration, making things complex for sufficient blood to reach the heart. Women undergoing stress often find solace in comfort foods like chocolates, pizzas, and ice cream, often leading to elevated cholesterol levels. Other habits like drinking and smoking would lead to various heart attacks and issues.

4. Weight gain

Cortisol often stimulates the appetite since it elevates the body's insulin level. It would make them crave the sugary items that would often lead to a gain in weight. Stress often leads to unhealthy eating behaviors like skipping meals, emotional eating, and reaching out to junk foods.

Women under stress will not consume the rich calorie foods, as cortisol would often slow down the metabolism, leading them to burn fewer calories.

5. Menstrual issues

There is numerous gynecologist who has identified stress as being one of the common reasons behind menstrual irregularities. Cortisol often interacts with these hormones that control your menstruation leading to lighter or heavier and even painful period cramps. It would also stop periods for a while till the cortisol levels get back to normal.

For women who are going through menopause, the higher levels of cortisol for a longer period would make these transitions tougher leading to hot flashes, discomfort, and disturbed sleep. 

6. Stomach diseases

Stress leads to bloating, nausea, acid refluxes, and stomach cramps. If the stress level is higher, it leads to diarrhea and vomiting. For a few, stress often destroys their appetite, leading to weight loss. The greater consumption of junk foods during stress often disturbs your gut microbiome, affecting energy levels and mood.

7. Issues with sleep

Women experiencing greater stress levels would find it tough to stay or fall asleep, leading to deprivation of sleep that leads to kidney issues, obesity, heart diseases, diabetes, and stroke. A woman who is sleep deprived becomes stressed to fail at performing their daily duties.

Closing thoughts

Sometimes, women are overloaded with their responsibilities and expectations, which stresses them. It is when you must consult with a Women's Mental Health psychiatrist in Bethesda. It is always great to know and address the main cause if you suffer from stress for a long. Professional help from Gelber MD will help you overcome this problem.