what we do
mental health Campaign
the facts about women and mental health
Women’s mental health is in crisis and the problem is growing. Three out of five women we surveyed said that poor mental health had affected their lives. That's the equivalent of 15.2 million girls and women in England and Wales.
Women suffering from mental health problems often engage in harmful or risky behaviour.
- 44% of women take time off work. One-in-four takes off at least a week a year
- 27% regularly drink enough to get drunk
- 21% build up debt
- 13% self-harm. This goes up to 35% in women aged 18 to 24
Other women take illegal drugs, abuse prescription drugs, or sleep around.
The current remedies are not working: despite greater knowledge about the problem and a significant increase in prescriptions for antidepressants, the problem isn’t going away, it’s getting worse:
- One-in-three women with mental health problems have never sought professional help
- 44% of women have been prescribed antidepressant drugs by the time they are 54
- 63% of girls and women feel that doctors too readily prescribe drugs to treat low level mental health problems
Girls and women are telling us that they are not getting the support they need and without drastic intervention on the part of policy makers this problem will continue to get worse. 82% of women feel it is important for women to have access to women-only mental health services.
read our report
Our 24-page research report describes the common triggers for mental health problems in girls and women and the impact of poor mental health. The report examines how women cope, how they feel about the support they receive and makes recommendations for change.
fact
Women in custody are more than five times more likely to have mental health problems than women in the general population
