Family life for women over 50

Lack of confidence among British women over 50 is increasingly affecting their day-to-day lives and causing problems in their family and work lives, new research finds.

Low self-esteem has resulted in reported upticks in anxiety (34%), depression (30%) and feelings of isolation (23%), which in turn have led to weight gain (27%) and reduced libido (18%).

Struggling with sleep (37%) plus poor memory (30%), mood swings (21%) and being unable to concentrate (20% are everyday problems women are dealing with but could be getting help with.

Over a fifth (22%) of the over-50s surveyed by Healthspan said their career has been directly affected by the problems they’re struggling to overcome and two-thirds said they are struggling to cope as ‘duel generation’ commitments mean they are torn between caring for children and ageing parents.

Aston spoke to chartered psychologist Dr Meg Arrol and consultant gynaecologist Tania Adib about why confidence is causing depression and also rifts in work.