Page 117 - Sanidhya 2024

or childbirth to pursue their careers. Older women the lives and dreams of younger women, reduce
who have already lived through these societal roles misunderstandings and build empathy. For younger
may face the “empty nest syndrome” when children women, hearing the stories of older women can give
grow up and leave, leading to loneliness and feeling them valuable lessons on resilience and adaptability
purposeless. They may also struggle to reconcile the and give older women a sense of purpose and
changing roles of women around them, find it hard to validation.
adjust to the new norms and often feel alienated.
2. Mental Health Education: Educating women across
Though mental health awareness is growing generations about mental health can break the stigma.
in India there are huge gaps in access to resources According to 2023 NFHS, 68% of young women in
and services especially for women. Older women may urban areas would seek mental health support if there
not want to or feel ashamed to seek help due to the was no stigma, shows how important mental health
stigma around mental health. Counselling or therapy is literacy is.
seen as unnecessary or indulgent which deters women
from acknowledging or addressing their mental health 3. Support Systems and Resources: Organizations,
issues. For younger women though mental health non-profits and government can work together to
services may be more accessible societal attitudes can increase mental health resources available to women in
still make it difficult for them to openly seek help. rural and urban areas. Special attention should be given
to create resources that cater to the mental health
Also, mental health care in India is urban- needs of women across different generations.
centric. Generational differences in acceptance and
understanding of mental health also play a role in 4. Cultural Sensitivity in Mental Health Services:
whether women feel comfortable seeking help. A Mental health professionals can offer culturally sensitive
young woman may want to go for therapy but her counseling that acknowledges traditional values and
family may not allow her to, because of the older modern challenges. This will bridge the generational
generation’s perspective that mental health issues gap and enable women to seek help while respecting
should be managed privately or are even taboo. their roots.
While younger women may be aware of mental health
resources older women see mental health issues as India’s generational gap poses a special mental
private family matters and are deterred by stigma from health challenge for women. Each generation has
seeking help. Mental health services are also skewed different views on autonomy, gender roles and mental
towards urban areas, with only 3 psychiatrists per health but there are also opportunities for mutual
100,000 people in India’s rural areas as per the 2022 support and understanding. By creating a culture that
World Health Organization (WHO) report. For many respects these diverse experiences, India can build a
women even thinking of therapy is constrained by both more inclusive mental health framework that honors
generational attitudes and lack of resources. tradition and progress. Ultimately it will need empathy,
patience and spaces where women of all ages can
To help women across generations have thrive mentally and emotionally.
better mental health we need to bridge the gap
between traditional values and modern thinking. This
can be done by having conversations within families,
communities and workplaces.

1. Open Communication: Intergenerational
conversations can help older women understand

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