“Exhausted and anxious”: the worsening of women is psychological suffering in post-pandemic Brazil

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic experienced in 2020 and 2021, surprised and shook contemporary society. On the one hand, by intensifying profound social inequalities, it complicated old problems and generated new adversities both for those who were already vulnerable and for those who were previously secure. On the other hand, it worsened a mental health crisis already experienced pre-pandemic by exposing everyone to mass death reported every moment, social isolation, fear of death, mourning without goodbye, and anguish in the face of the unknown. Psychic suffering is then heightened, and anxiety, for example, which is so natural to people in dangerous situations, becomes pathological. However, despite the relief at overcoming the health crisis, the consequences of the pandemic continue to echo. In addition, it is precisely post-pandemic Brazil that this study focuses on, focusing on the mental health of the female population. Its objective is to analyze the mental health of women in post-pandemic Brazil. To do this, it reflects on the mental health crisis already underway before the pandemic and then maps the experiences during the pandemic period that influenced its worsening. It ends by analyzing women's exposure to anxiety disorder in the post-pandemic period. The preparation of this work included a broad literature review focusing on articles and scientific journals on women's mental health and post-pandemic anxiety disorder in Brazil, available in the databases of SciELO Brazil, Revista de Políticas Públicas (RPP), the Electronic Magazine Acervo Saúde (REAS) and the Electronic Journals Portal in Psychology (PepsiCo). It also included data from the report “Exhausted: impoverishment, care overload and women's psychological suffering”, released in August 2023 because of research carried out by Think Olga. It was observed that women have a very high risk of becoming ill when it comes to psychological distress. So much so that they suffer most from depressive and anxiety disorders. This fact becomes even worse in the post-pandemic scenario, when symptoms such as irritability, stress, low self-esteem, fatigue, insomnia and sadness become common in the daily lives of the female population. Such exhaustion has a visceral relationship with the gender inequality that structures Brazilian society. It is because of this, and the violent sociability it produces, that Brazilian women, in addition to being underrepresented in politics, and suffering more harassment, are overburdened with care work, in addition to being more vulnerable to unemployment and less remuneration. It is concluded, therefore, that caring for women's mental health must be a priority commitment, especially in the post-pandemic period, in which the feeling of “the worst is over, now it's time to get on with life normally” makes serious and urgent problems such as those experienced by minorities groups. In addition, definitely, its authors agree, “there is no possible future if women's suffering and illness are not taken care of immediately”.for yourself. It meets the need to find reason and fulfillment in life, as well as the need for hope and will to live well and happily.