Emma Calveley, the director behind the new four-part documentary series In My Mind, talks about the show.
Mental well being - including anxiety - and the toll pressure to look slim and eat clean can have on women's health is being explored in a TV series about real Kiwi women.
In New Zealand women are 1.6 times more likely to suffer from a common mental health condition than men, with 20 per cent of adult women being diagnosed with one at some point during their lives, according to 2014 research from the Mental Health Foundation.
One in 10 young women will also suffer from an eating disorder.
Comedian and winner of the prestigious Billy T Award, Angella Dravid is among many Kiwi women dealing anxiety, a condition that psychologists say has reached epidemic proportions.
The 31-year-old said she often over thinks and fears she's hurting others because of how she dealt with family problems during her childhood.
"I think the constant battle I'm facing is that I want to be able to talk to people but then I have this worry that what I'm doing is causing someone else pain so instead I put the pain on myself," she said.
"I think women aren't really told of their worth. It's just a cultural thing. We have to put others before us - it's quite a feminine trait."
Comedian Angella Dravid suffers from crippling social anxiety and says many women put pressure on themselves to make others happy. Photo / Supplied
Growing up she felt constantly judged on her appearance - a pressure that many women face but most men don't, she said.
"Things like your skin colour or your weight, your age - all of those things become much more important as a woman compared to a man.
"There seems to be a time limit that a woman needs to achieve everything by before she becomes too old. It doesn't seem to have a cap for men but women seem to have: 'you must have this and this and this before 40 or before 30 or your looks will fade and then what'?"
Attitude's four-part documentary In My Mind takes a deeper look at some of the pressures contributing to poor mental health in women.
It's an issue close to home for Emma Calveley, the director of the series' "body" episode, whose youngest sister - now aged 22 - has had anorexia since she was 9-years-old.
"My mum had anorexia in her 20s and had overcome it enough to get pregnant and have me. She was really aware that eating disorders could be something that would affect my family, especially the women in my family," Calveley said.
"Even though she really tried to protect us I think that those pressures still came through. All of the women in my family experienced it to some effect."
Women feel pressure to eat clean, be thin and look a certain way because they want to be attractive to the opposite sex, she said, and headlines like "you can lose weight in 10 days", "get abs in 30 days" reinforce they need to lose weight and change themeselves.
"We're concerned about these things because we're told we need to be."
Emma Calveley, a director behind the new four-part documentary series In My Mind, says our body critical, weightloss obsessed culture is hurting Kiwi women's mental health. Photo / Michael Craig.
Our selfie-obsessed culture and the rise in popularity of vegan, paleo and other diets also played into the pressure women feel to conform to particular beauty standards, she told the Weekend Herald.
"I think that all of this focus on what we're eating and what we should be eating means we judge ourselves and each other more and it puts more pressure on us to eat and be a certain way.
"With social media there's a real danger of comparison... If women are constantly seeing long, skinny women, flat stomachs, perfect complexions - that's not how we all are. We can never measure up to that so we tell ourselves we're not enough."
Calveley said being aware of the pressure women dealing with eating disorders put on themselves and being kinder to ourselves and others was important to changing our culture when it comes to women's mental health.
"The best thing that you can do is show that you're someone they can talk to. I think being really open and asking the right questions of them in a way that is loving and non-judgemental is [important]."
For Dravid it was talking to friends and a counsellor that helped her deal with anxiety.
"If the people who are affected voice their opinions and what they're feeling so that other people understand perceptions that aren't their own - I think it's always important to talk so that people who don't have that insight can see from your perspective," she said.
In My Mind is on TVNZ 1 on Sundays at 8.30am. Calveley's "body" episode airs on July 30.
Where to get help:
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7) • Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7) • Youthline: 0800 376 633 • Kidsline: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7) • Whatsup: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm) • Depression helpline: 0800 111 757 (available 24/7) • Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155 • Samaritans 0800 726 666 • If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
