Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, women and gender-diverse people had significant mental health concerns.
- Women are nearly twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with depression, but experience more barriers in getting care.
- Women tend to experience more concurrent mental health disorders. Depression might be accompanied by anxiety, agoraphobia (feeling unsafe), panic disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- An alarming 80% of individuals with eating disorders are women, which has the highest overall mortality rate of any mental illness.
- 25.7% of young women have self-harmed – more than twice the rate of young men.
Monies raised as part of Run for Women, including 100% of donations collected, will increase access to care, fund important local services at The Royal, and support the diverse needs of women who are under-recognized, under-served and have specialized mental health needs for which traditional (often-male focused) mental health services are not appropriate or sufficiently sensitive.
We need to address the unique way women experience mental illness, treatment, recovery, and care. Women are faced with inequalities, and addressing these issues is imperative, not only for women, but for the health of our community. Help us close the gender gaps in mental health and expand access to gender-specific mental health research and care by registering or making a donation today.