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The importance of mental health, and more people should be involved

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Nicola Cook

Nicola Cook is a librarian, and is interested in diversifying the voices and perspectives of health in our library collection. When she's not cataloguing, she can be found discussing curious cures in the Reading Room or trawling the web for new zines.

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Six personal health zines that might change your life

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Personal zines put health conditions back in the hands of the people who experience them. Here are six that Wellcome Collection staff love.

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Find research on contemporary women’s mental health from the library of Leeds.

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The book:

Contemporary Topics in Women's Mental Health: Global perspectives in a changing society

Prabha S. Chandra, Helen Herrman, Jane E. Fisher, Marianne Kastrup, Unaiza Niaz, Marta Rondon, Ahmed Okasha

2009

We can find useful information from Section 1 — Current themes in phychiatric disorders among women and Section 5 — Gender, social policy and implications for promoting women’s mental health.

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After the division of labor through group discussions, I am mainly responsible for collecting and researching contemporary women’s mental health.

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My views about contemporary women’s mental health

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My views about contemporary women’s mental health

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Unique gender factors —-biological differences, social roles, experience of discrimination

Focus on depression and anxiety:

Because of social stress

Women will be under a lot of psychological pressure to do their best to break through their limits, do better to win the recognition of society, and break the gender inequality in society, but often these may not be perfectly realized.

Women will fall into self-doubt and believe that their abilities are limited, which will lead to anxiety.

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Chandra, P. et al. (2009) Contemporary Topics in Women’s Mental Health. 1st edn. Wiley. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/2755880 (Accessed: 27 October 2024).

Depression and anxiety among women

Women, more often than man, suffer from anxiety disorders

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Results:

1. Seek help for an equal prevalence

2. biological differences — menarche and menopause, reproduction, child birth

3. social effects — life stress, absence of support and of women’s role in society

4. Distress from family structure, social role, gender difference expectation

Treatment effects — not widespread enough

Mood and anxiety disorders across lifespan

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Women health

This theme aims to raise the awareness of women’s health especially on mental health, more and more people should pay attention on health problems. During different periods, the attention rate from social exists difference, therefore we collect them together, allow more people to learn.

Labels: mental health, female, social, cultural bias

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We discussed together to integrate our views

‘Big idea’

This is an online exhibition tracing the evolution of women’s healthcare from the witch trials to modern medicine, revealing how shifting politics and the fight for women’s rights have shaped access to healthcare. Through this journey, we uncover how historical biases and political struggles still impact reproductive rights, mental health, and bodily autonomy today. By connecting past to present, this exhibition empowers viewers to understand the roots of these modern issues and join the push for a future where women’s health and rights are fully realized and protected.

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Outline interpretive strategy

https://www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/advice-article/introduction-to-interpretation/#:~:text=Museum%20interpretation%20is%20how%20we,will%20have%20with%20your%20collection

Museum interpretation is the art of presenting information in a form that visitors can enjoy and quickly understand.

We are interpreting a collection of objects that relate to the history of women’s health from a number of periods over the course of two centuries.

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-              What are we trying to interpret? Why? For who?

-              What do we want the visitor to take away from the objects?

-              Why does the information we’re giving matter?

-              Labels

-              Graphic panels

-              Audio Visual (AV)

-              Digital interpretation

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Label text examples

According to plan, London Foundation for Marriage Education: Access to contraception post-WW2 was still incredibly hard for women to come by. This video highlights the inequality in the care women received as in 1964 only married women who had already had children, or women who for health reasons should not get pregnant could receive contraception.

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Ideas for object list

-             https://wellcomecollection.org/works/dqpd9pya (‘According to plan’ video promoting good family planning, London Foundation for Marriage Education, 1964) – maybe the first 2 minutes

-              https://wellcomecollection.org/works/upk8z6fa (Family planning reprints, Abortion Law Reform Association, 1968-1976) – page 26

-             https://wellcomecollection.org/works/c66jv5hp

Including 2 images, showing four types of physician using their qualifications to take advantage of their women patients or of the public. Coloured lithographs, ca. 1852.

-             https://wellcomecollection.org/works/fjg4s86y

Women's Health Library's own system of classification

Each subject is assigned a specific code — own archive

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Wellcome Collection is a free museum and library that aims to challenge how we all think and feel about health.

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About the video

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Family Plan

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2 images

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Own archives in the Women’s Health Library

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Our team use

WhatsApp — communicate our time of discussing and meeting

Google Document — share and edit our ideas together

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My research process

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record some notes about ‘Big Idea’ from Rob

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Group Meeting Session

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After revising, the final ‘Big Idea’ has been finished

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This image records our together working time in Laidlaw Library

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Enjoying this moment

We work hard for our online exhibition to express women’s health from different time period.

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We face a dilemma, when we checked the first draft list of exhibits, we found that there was a copyright issue with the design of the exhibits, and the copyright of the works we could use should be marked with CC licenses

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This means that we have to look for exhibits all over again.

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During today's world, modern women face unique health challenges. Many face stress from juggling work, family, and societal expectations. Public health campaigns and access to reliable health information empower women to take charge of their well-being.

Across these exhibits, having formed to advocate for change, share knowledge, and support each other. These stories underline the need for inclusive, empathetic healthcare systems that prioritize women’s voices and diverse health experiences. And exploring how women use creativity to navigate mental health challenges and foster resilience.

As you engage with this exhibition, reflect on these questions: How can we better support women’s mental health? How can art and community create healing spaces for women today?

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Mainstreaming gender and women’s mental health : implementation guidance
London : Department of Health, 2003, 65 pages ; 30 cm

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High Royds Hospital, Menston, Ilkley, Yorkshire: a corridor
Paul Digby, 2004, Pencil drawing, 120 x 150 cm

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Mainstreaming gender and women’s mental health : implementation guidance / [Department of Health].

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Mainstreaming gender and women’s mental health : implementation guidance / [Department of Health].

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High Royds Hospital, Menston, Ilkley, Yorkshire: a corridor. Pencil drawing by Paul Digby, 2003-2004.

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High Royds was a Victorian lunatic asylum, subsequently a psychiatric hospital, built in 1888. Previous names include West Riding Mental Hospital (by 1929-1948), Menston Mental Hospital (1949-1951), and Menston Hospital (1952-1963). It closed in February-March 2003.

“Just before the final closure of High Royds Hospital, before the contractors moved in to convert the place into private housing, there was a week of events ensuring that the end of over 100 years of hospital care on this site did not go unmarked. Events included guided tours of the hospital, an artist working on the walls of the old library and an art therapy workshop was offered to patients on one of the remaining wards ... The tour passed through the old library where the artist Paul Digby was making a wall drawing for the occasion. The drawing was of rooms inside the hospital that he remembered. He had invited people to talk to him about what he was doing and paper was provided for people to write thoughts about the closure. Comments were mixed; some expressed sadness at the passing of such an established institution. Other remarks included ‘I’m glad it’s going’, ‘I was frightened when I was a patient here’. The passing of High Royds Hospital as one of the last large institutions to close down does indeed mark part of something important. These buildings witnessed and accommodated huge changes in social and economic conditions and in treatment and attitudes in mental health: a hundred years of history of ordinary men and women in Yorkshire”--Weston, op. cit.

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Regarding modern women’s health, I found these two collection pages that fit our ‘Big Idea’

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In this process, I became deeply aware of the importance of copyright.

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Two naked witches riding on a broomstick accompanied by an owl.
Goya, Francisco, 1796/1798, Etching with aquatint ; Platemark 21.3 x 15 cm

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Arrival of dawn and the break-up of a witches’ gathering
Goya, Francisco, 1796/1798, Etching with aquatint ; Platemark 20.1 x 15 cm

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An episode in Macbeth by William Shakespeare: the three witches.
Mezzotint by J.R. Smith, 1785, after H. Fuseli, 1783, Mezzotint ; 43.9 x 53.5 cm

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A candle in the dark: or, a treatise concerning the nature of witches and witchcraft: being advice to judges, sheriffes … what to do, before they passe sentence on such as are arraigned for their lives, as witches
Ady, Thomas, 1656

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Crimean War: Florence Nightingale going around the wards at Scutari Hospital
Illustrated London News, 1855, Wood engraving

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Thalidomide oral history. Mothers guilt recording 

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Thalidomide oral history. Mothers guilt recording 

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https://archive.org/details/0056-0000-8075-0000-0-0000-0000-0

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Thalidomide oral history. Mothers’ guilt.

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Edited extracts from Thalidomide: An Oral History in which the interviewees discuss their mother’s feelings of guilt. Participants include: Geoff Adams-Spink, Hazel Simmons, Sukeshi Thakkar, Sarah Gaitley and Liz Lash.

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Family Planning Reprints
Abortion Law Reform Association, 1968-1976, Page 2

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The Witch Trial

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A prostitute with her name and charges
Between 1800 and 1809?, Etching ; Platemark 10.1 x 6.1 cm

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The Victorians

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Mid 20th Century

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Modern times

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Title: High Royds Hospital Closure

Artist: Paul Digby

Location: High Royds Hospital, Yorkshire

This work reflects the final days of High Royds Hospital, a Victorian asylum that operated for over a century before closing in 2003. Artist Paul Digby created a wall drawing in the hospital’s library, capturing the memories and emotions tied to this historic site. Visitors shared their thoughts on its closure, ranging from sadness to relief, offering a glimpse into the mixed legacy of psychiatric care.

High Royds symbolizes the evolution of mental health treatment, from institutionalization to more modern, community-based care. This piece invites reflection on the social and personal impact of mental health practices, as well as the lives shaped by these walls.

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Title: Expressing Mental Health Through Art

Creator: The Cover of Book

Source: Wellcome Collection

This vibrant artwork explores the intersection of creativity and mental health. Through vivid colors, floral motifs, and abstract forms, it symbolizes emotional growth, resilience, and the complexities of modern women’s mental health. Each element reflects the struggles and triumphs faced by women in navigating societal pressures, self-image, and mental well-being.

Art has long been a powerful medium for self-expression and healing, especially for women whose voices have often been marginalized. This piece invites viewers to consider how creativity can help break down mental health stigma and foster a sense of connection and empowerment.

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The next step will explore the stories behind these exhibits

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Modern time panel

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The first draft

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The third group meeting

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The final modern time panel

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Modern time labels with caption

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High Royds Hospital, Menston, Ilkley, Yorkshire: a corridor
Paul Digby, 2004, Pencil drawing, 120 x 150 cm

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Mainstreaming gender and women’s mental health : implementation guidance
London : Department of Health, 2003, 65 pages ; 30 cm

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The process of finding modern time women mental health objects

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I finally found the right copyright of objects.

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The design part was mainly carried out by team member Chenfei Cai, who brought our online exhibition to a successful conclusion, and her design was amazing! During the design process, we encountered a shortage of storage space when uploading images and audio to WordPress, and I worked with her to solve this problem and successfully upload all the exhibition content

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She designed the theme of the characters according to the characteristics of each period.

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We talked about how to to set up the online exhibition.

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We set the audio guide to allow audience into immersive experience.

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An Ongoing Journey: the History of Women’s Health

The final version

This online exhibition is the result of the joint efforts of our group members.

Many thanks to my group! Through this experience, I deeply realized the meaning of collaboration and allocation.

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An Ongoing Journey: the History of Women's Health

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TW: This exhibition addresses issues of female sexual and mental health which some audience members may find distressing. Preface： From Witch Trials to Millennium... This online exhibition explores the history of women's health in the UK.

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The exhibition is online !

Available from 2024.12.09

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The last step!

Group presentation will bring our exhibition to all tutors and classmates.

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Instagram