GUELPH – On March 8, Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington joined individuals and organizations around the world to #EmbraceEquity in celebrating this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD), an annual event held to mark the social, economic and political achievements of women.
The IWD website specifies the basic difference between equality and equity, noting:
– equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities; and
– equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances, and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.
Among other issues, gender bias has a significant negative effect on medical diagnosis and the quality of health care women receive, leading to substantial delays in diagnosis and misdiagnosis.
This includes delays in receiving mental health care, as research has found that women experience depression and anxiety twice as often as men, but experience more barriers in getting care.
Locally, more than half of the calls CMHA receives for Crisis Services through the Here 24/7 telephone line and IMPACT (Integrated Mobile Police and Crisis Team) are coming from women.
Women are reaching out for support with issues like anxiety and depression, suicidal ideation, and relationship conflict.
Referrals for eating disorders programs at CMHA WW have tripled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Between four per cent and 20% of young women practice unhealthy patterns of dieting, purging, and binge eating.
According to NIED, one in 20 young women in the community currently has an eating disorder.
Unfortunately, with a mental illness such as an eating disorder, the situation can get worse for people if they need to wait a long time for support.
Eating disorders have the highest overall mortality rate of any mental illness, with estimates between 10-15%.
Psychosis can happen to anyone and one in 100 people may require treatment for it in their lifetime. Youth are particularly at risk.
Women entering the 1st Step program may be experiencing social phobia, bipolar disorder, and generalized anxiety.
The key to a successful recovery is early diagnosis and getting help fast.
Further to the official IWD 2023 theme, the Canadian government has its own campaign it has dubbed Every Woman Counts.
Healthy women, create health communities
Participation in the Shoppers Drug Mart Run for Women means quicker access to critical local mental health resources for our daughters, mothers, sisters, grandmothers, friends, and coworkers, so that that they can get the help they need now.
Be the difference this International Women’s Day, officials say.
Save $5 and support the women in your community with promo code ‘EQUITY23’ March 6 to 13 when you register for the Shopper’s Run for Women in support of the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington.
Visit https://www.runforwomen.ca/Cities/Waterloo.aspx for details.
CMHA Waterloo Wellington offers a number of programs and services as well as crisis support through Here 24/7, 1-844-437-3247.
Don’t be afraid to call.
