Can your Mental Health actually affect your Vagina?

Well, the short answer is there is no short answer. It gets a little scientific but just keep up and you will understand. See the body is all about chemistry! So, in order to understand why stress could actually change your chemistry is not only very interesting but as a woman something you really should know.

So let’s get to the first part. Why does this happen?

We all know our mental well-being can have a massive bearing on our overall health. The body carries anxiety, stress and trauma in many different ways and if you’ve noticed a change in your intimate health during stressful situations that same stress may be to blame for the changes you are experiencing.

For example, discharge is a great signifier of your overall health and this doesn’t just include your physical wellbeing. Some studies have highlighted that when you’re stressed your immune system dips and this could leave you susceptible to diseases and other unwanted health conditions. The imbalance in the vagina can weaken the protective bacteria and lead to other issues, including unpleasant discharge that smells, is thicker than usual or is dark in color. “This happens because the natural “self-cleaning” process has been interrupted, sometimes by STRESS. Changes in the appearance, smell and texture of discharge can be an isolated problem, but it can be a good sign of an infection like thrush or bacterial vaginosis.

In a new study conducted by CARE, a non-profit international aid organization, investigators have found that while almost nobody is spared from the anxiety, worry and overall emotional fatigue of life, women are almost three times as likely as men to report suffering from significant mental health consequences (27% compared to 10%), including anxiety, loss of appetite, inability to sleep and trouble completing everyday tasks.

It’s easy to forget the physical implications of stress and anxiety during the stressful times. It’s highly likely you are vigilant looking out for coughs or a rise in your temperature during times of high infections. However, carrying around worries and anxiety for a long period of time can seriously impact your intimate health.

For many women this can lead to changes in lifestyle as in low libido, not feeling fresh, loss of confidence and self-care and more serious implications like infections and disease.