Psychoses of the female body: the need for more psychosocial engagement

Biomedical discourse commonly associates the emergence of psychosis in women with the reproductive body, most particularly, with the hormonal shifts that accompany the reproductive cycle during menstruation, pregnancy/birth, and menopause. This paper argues that hormonal theories of psychosis and the female body mirror patriarchal ideas regarding women’s “raging hormones” and inherent emotional instability. Although psychosocial scholarship on psychosis has led to a broadening of the conversation regarding people diagnosed with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, psychoses of the female body (e.g., postpartum psychosis, menopausal psychosis, menstrual exacerbation) have thus far been neglected by this important critical analysis. The author suggests a closer engagement with feminist psychology as a way of illuminating more holistic approaches to psychosis in women, thus counterbalancing sexist and reductive narratives.