March - Women's Mental Health
This March UFV highlights the awareness of Women’s Mental Health. Though many mental illnesses seem to be gender neutral, women often have different signs and symptoms, requiring different treatments and services. Homewood Health has provided some enlightening facts about women’s mental health.
Did you know:
- 47% of women were considered at high risk of developing mental health disorders, compared to 36% of men.
- 25.7% of young women have self-harmed – more than twice the rate of young men.
- Women are nearly twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with depression.
- Women who have experienced childhood trauma such as sexual abuse and physical violence are 3 to 4 times more likely to encounter depression as adults.
- Women tend to experience more concurrent mental health disorders. Depression might be accompanied by anxiety, agoraphobia (feeling unsafe), panic disorders, somatoform disorders (symptoms of physical illness or pain that cannot be fully diagnosed), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Women have significantly higher rates of developing PTSD following exposure to traumatic events – at least double that of men.
- An alarming 80% of individuals with eating disorders are women, which has the highest overall mortality rate of any mental illness.
To read further on this article please continue to this link.
If you are struggling with mental health, please know help is available. We are all in this together.
- If there is immediate risk, call 911
- If you are experiencing a personal crisis, contact the crisis line at 604-951-8855or toll free 1-877-820-7444. This service is available 24 hours a day, every day.
- All UFV employees have access to free short term counselling by contacting Homewood Health at Toll-free: 1-800-663-1142, services are available 24hrs/day, every day.
- For additional resources from Homewood, please sign up/log in to your Homeweb account.
- Wellness Together Canada is also a free online platform launched by the Federal Government for all Canadians of all ages to access mental health and substance use support.