New report exposes the mental health toll on women during life transitions

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A report from GreenShield and Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC) shows that women’s mental health challenges are often overlooked, especially during major life transitions like giving birth or menopause.

The findings come at a time when nearly half of women, 47 per cent, report heightened anxiety due to pressures such as politics and the state of the economy, the report shows.

“I really think that there’s a need for much more preventative care,” said Akela Peoples, the chief executive officer of MHRC.

“If we can focus efforts upstream on preventative care, it really helps us with that spectrum and addressing problems before they become real life impediments.”

With that goal in mind, MHRC and GreenShield worked with multiple organizations to combine lived experience and national data to develop viable solutions. 

“The mental health sector and the challenges that Canadians are facing are far too great for any one organization to solve [themselves]. We need to be working together,” said Peoples. 

GreenShield and MHRC’s 2025 report  builds on data from the 2023 report, showing mental health outcomes have not improved.

Challenges in youth

For many women, mental health struggles can start at an early age. 

The latest data shows young women between the ages of 16-24 experience higher levels of anxiety, at 18 per cent, compared to 14 per cent of young men.

Despite this, 73 per cent of youth who seek mental health care report that their needs are not met. 

Earlier this year, GreenShield, Canada’s only national non-profit healthcare and insurance organization, announced its Youth Mental Health initiative.

The initiative helps address the lack of timely and culturally appropriate care by serving as a centralized platform where services from leading youth mental health organizations are brought together. 

The program aims to make culturally appropriate support, such as counselling, easier and quicker for young people to access.

With social and economic stress on the rise, the report noted that youth require tailored mental health solutions more than ever. 

Mental health issues like anxiety, disordered eating, and depression can often emerge during this life stage, according to the report, setting the tone for long-term mental health outcomes.

Eating disorders disproportionately affect young women, with 17 per cent of those aged 16 to 24 reporting they’ve experienced one, compared to 14 per cent of men in the same age group.

The data shows the need for stronger early intervention and prevention, said Peoples. 

“I do think awareness is increasing,” she said. “Stigma is being reduced, so that we’re starting to have many more conversations with each other, with our friendship circles, with our families, about what’s impacting our mental health.”

But mental health challenges often don’t go away in a young woman’s life, and they can be heightened throughout motherhood.

Motherhood

The primary concern Clare Zeschky hears from new mothers at Pacific Post Partum Support Society is that they’re overwhelmed and burned out. 

“But, you’re not alone,” said Zeschky, the non-profit’s program manager in BC. 

The organization provides free text, calling and peer support groups for parents to prevent isolation.

According to the report, about half of Canadian mothers say they frequently or always feel burned out.

The data is even higher for racialized mothers, where 39 per cent say they have concerns about their mental health, compared to 28 per cent of non-racialized mothers. 

Zeschky says sleepless nights, identity shifts and hormonal changes can take a significant emotional toll on mothers, especially new mothers who can often feel isolated.

Two-thirds of mothers surveyed said they’re concerned about their mental health, yet many said they lacked accessible or timely support, according to the report.

“It feels as though if you admit that you’re overwhelmed and burned out then ‘you’re not a good parent, you’re not coping’,” said Zeschky. “I think stigma really still affects people being able to reach out for support.”

Still, the evidence shows that treatment works. 

The report indicates that 95 per cent of women who received support for their perinatal mental health found it helpful.

“There are folks out there who understand what you’re going through and how difficult this is and we know how difficult it is to reach out for help but the quicker you do that, the quicker you start feeling better,” said Zeschky.

Finding community outside of people’s usual friends and family circle is essential for new mothers, she added.

“We’re always talking about the village and parenting. And so community is a big part of it.”

Menopause

One of the most under-discussed mental health turning points for women is menopause.

More than 50 per cent of women feel unprepared for the transition, which typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 50, according to the report.

It’s an experience that Alice Wiafe went through, starting eight years ago when she awoke in the middle of the night, sweating profusely.

“I couldn’t sleep again after that and I didn’t sleep again after that for three days,” said Wiafe. “I actually had to have emergency [personnel] come and pick me up because something had happened to my hormones.”

Her doctor prescribed her sleeping pills, but after not feeling any better, she went to get a second opinion.

That doctor told her perimenopause was likely to blame. Once she had a diagnosis, the treatment prescribed helped her, said Wiafe.

Like many women experiencing menopause, the signs and symptoms often go unrecognized and even dismissed by healthcare providers.

GreenShield’s report found nearly 60 per cent of women don’t know that symptoms like anxiety, depression and memory issues can be linked to menopause.

Wiafe’s experience highlights an even deeper issue.

“Unfortunately, within Black communities, we talk about mental health being ‘frowned upon’,” she said.

According to Black Mental Health Canada, women are often more hesitant to seek therapy because of stigma, lack of representation in practitioners and access to therapy. 

GreenShield reports eight per cent of racialized women needed support but didn’t access any, compared to four per cent of non-racialized women.

“Menopausal mental health issues are way, way [down the priority list] where mental health would even be at, there’s so many more prioritized concerns in that space,” said Waife.

Black women report high anxiety at 35 per cent, according to the report.

For Wiafe, the first step towards healing was talking about mental health. 

“There’s something about being able to share and connect and empathize,” she said. “I think this is that stage where you need to be around other women who are possibly going through the same thing. It takes a village.”

Solutions

GreenShield and MHRC’s report highlights how support can improve women’s mental health throughout every stage of life. 

 “Women are telling us—through data and lived experience—that mental health care in Canada is falling short. There is an urgent need for inclusive, accessible mental health care that supports women through every life stage,”said Mandy Mail, Executive Vice President, Head of GreenShield Cares. 

Affordability remains one of the most significant barriers, with nearly half of women who needed mental health support saying they could not access it due to cost. 

In response, GreenShield Cares’ free Women’s Mental Health program has connected more than 160,000 women with essential resources and support since it was launched in 2021.

The organization partners with groups like Black Mental Health Canada to expand culturally appropriate, easy-to-access care.

“Mental health isn’t one-size-fits-all,” said Mail. “As a non-profit social enterprise rooted in health equity, GreenShield is responding with inclusive, culturally appropriate solutions that reflect and respect the diverse realities of women across the country.”

The report highlights the importance of a holistic, proactive approach rather than treating mental health as a separate or reactive issue.  

To that end, users of GreenShield Cares’ Women’s Mental Health program receive free culturally sensitive, trauma-informed virtual therapy and a complimentary one-year subscription to internet-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (Digital CBT).

When women have the support they need, families, workplaces, and entire communities thrive, said Mail.

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