Original article | Article archive (German, sorry frens, but you can use linguee.de for translation. It is really good.)
Patriarchy increases mental illnessThe health system in Austria neglects mental illnesses massively and the patriarchy makes above all women mentally ill: This writes the Viennese Beatrice Frasl in her new book "Patriarchal Stress Disorder", together with several demands. When it comes to gender studies, women's politics and mental illness, Beatrice Frasl has an open mind. In her book, the cultural scientist and gender researcher refers to a number of studies on the topic of "mental health" and presents problems and challenges from different perspectives.
Inequality as a trigger for mental illnesses
One focus is gender inequality. According to Frasl, it is patriarchy - male-dominated society - that makes people ill. Women suffer from depression twice as often as men. "Women are more often poor or at risk of poverty, they earn less, they get less pension. Women do much more unpaid work at home, as well as caring for the sick and relatives. And that affects women's psyche," Frasl said in the "Wien heute" interview. In addition, there are the expectations of a woman's reflection. This affects the psyche at an early age - eating disorders are the result. "So we already know from six-year-old girls that they feel fat. That extends into adulthood."
No "man bashing"
She does not want to look down on men from above with her book, however, by any means. "It's not about bashing men at all," but rather her book is an appeal to men, because mental health problems often go undetected in them. "And the question is, why? One possible answer is that in a patriarchal society, we instill an image of masculinity in young boys and men that tells them: you have to be strong, you have to assert yourself, you mustn't cry," Frasl emphasized.
Long waiting times for health insurance places
However, a reason to cry for the author: According to Frasl, the Austrian health care system and politics neglect mental illness at all levels. Psychotherapy, an expensive affair: between 80 and 160 euros per unit and the places, which are financed by the health insurance, limited. The waiting time is often several months.
According to Frasl, this is "inhumane and unbearable." "If you compare that to a physical illness - for example, a broken leg and then they say, 'We only have five places and they're already taken.'" Acute mental cases also need to be treated immediately, he said, otherwise it can often become life-threatening.
Psychotherapy to be covered in full
Their demand is among other things that psychotherapy should be completely covered by the state. Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Grüne) is also said to have already received a copy of the book. On "Wien heute"-inquiry it was said in addition from the Ministry of Health that the organization of the offer for psychotherapy as health treatment lies in the authority of the health insurance carriers in the context of their self-administration. "Nevertheless, from the point of view of the Ministry of Health, a further expansion of care in Austria is necessary," the statement said.
Now, the author's Twitter thread regarding her study:
Tweet part 1:
I have been involved in feminist theory and practice, in the analysis and critique of existing gender relations, for 20 years. One almost inevitably becomes very cynical and jaded in the process; there is little that shocks me anymore. One thing I
Tweet part 2:
I learned only during the research for my book, but then it shocked even me. Did you know that male violence against women increases when they are pregnant? In fact, male partners are so often violent towards pregnant women that this violence is
Twitter | Twitter archive (Use linguee, it has a free plugin for your browser)Tweet part 3:
is more common than any pregnancy complication. Let that sink in.
Her linktree brought be to "Der Standard" newspaper, quite big, one of the serious newspapers that isn't bashing refugees 24/7 with grammar errors and clickbait headlines:
Article | Archive
When patriarchy makes you sickBeatrice Frasl shows in her book how gender and social factors influence mental health
If you are concerned with feminism and mental illness, you can hardly get past Beatrice Frasl: In her podcast "Große Töchter - der feministische Podcast für Österreich" (Big Daughters - the feminist podcast for Austria) she deals with socio-political topics, and as @fraufrasl she tweets mainly about mental health from a feminist perspective. With Patriarchal Stress Disorder. Geschlecht, Klasse und Psyche (Gender, Class and Psyche), she has now published an almost 400-page non-fiction book, some of whose contents are no longer new, at least for people interested in the topic - but whose abundance is nevertheless one thing: frightening.
It is shocking to be presented in such a concentrated way and backed up with figures, how little is being done for mental health, especially in Austria. How much mental illness is linked to social and economic factors as well as to gender. And above all: how little is being done against (social, gender-specific) inequalities, although the consequences for (mental) health are proven - as well as the economic damage caused by mental illness.
There are numerous imbalances that Frasl lists, and by their very nature, it is difficult to draw clear boundaries in a field as large as mental health. After all, Frasl writes, as early as 2006 a meta-study put the likelihood of Europeans - she consistently uses the feminine form, men are included - falling ill mentally in the course of their lives at 50 percent. The climate crisis picking up steam, Corona, war and inflation have hardly improved the outlook. Frasl highlights three areas: first, there is the sensationally poor provision in Austria, which has not fallen from the sky but is simply structural. Psychotherapy places are limited and hard to come by. People in acute crises either have enough money to pay for their therapy themselves. Or they are out of luck.
Huge costs
Frasl describes her own desperate search for a therapy place. And she points out that mental illnesses that are not treated or are treated too late not only cost lives, but money: the Austrian economy eleven billion euros in 2014, according to an OECD report. One might rub one's eyes in amazement and ask why more is not being done.
One reason may be that (and this is Frasl's second major point) mental illness (vulgo craziness) is often associated with being a woman. Frasl calls it "the oldest ailment in the world - the diagnosis of women," devotes extensive attention to the history of the clinical picture of "hysteria," but also to the structural, political and social background: starting with the notorious gender pay gap, which seems to be such a force of nature that apparently no one is in a position to overcome it, and ending with the unequal distribution of free and (care) working time.
When you consider all this in the concentrated form listed by Frasl, you tend to wonder how some women, and especially mothers, manage not to become depressed. This fits with much-cited studies that show, in short, that the institution of marriage makes men psychologically healthier and women psychologically unhealthier. "Couple relationships and the dynamics within them are not only a factor in the development of depression, a link has also been described regarding schizophrenia, anorexia, anxiety disorders and borderline personality disorder. So marriages with men are risk factors for women in terms of developing mental illness."
Although the mental illnesses (not only) of women usually have a cause in the social environment, and in unfortunately not so rare extreme cases are even coping strategies for experiences of violence or abuse, according to a further criticism by Frasl, a narrative is still frequently adhered to which says that mental illness arises spontaneously from the individual and has biological causes, so that one only has to swallow a pill.
Too many psychotropic drugs
Frasl questions the inflationary administration of psychotropic drugs just as much as the simultaneous intentional shortage of psychotherapy places and the concealment of social, political and economic (i.e.: non-biological) connections. Accordingly, many points are then found in the chapter "What can we do?": in addition to better care, also social compensation, education and information as well as a psychiatric paradigm shift - in short: more therapy, less chemistry. Despite the unfortunately often inaccessible language, which certainly excludes a large, non-academically educated circle of readers, an important book, whose reading one would like to recommend to political decision-makers. (Andrea Heinz, 3.1.2023)
Sidenotes:
- Grüne, literal translation "Green". Political party, hardcore left, anti nuclear power but for "green energy". For refugees and against traditions. You get the point.
- "Wien heute" is a short news report about Vienna
- Her book costs 20€
- She has an Etsy shop with this T-shirt
- Maybe I'm blind but the studies aren't linked? Maybe they're in her book...
