“Women’s mental health isn’t under strain because women aren’t coping. It’s under strain because women are carrying more – paid work, unpaid care, emotional labour – often without the support systems they need.” Canadian Mental Health Association.
In a recent message to followers surrounding the launch of its Rest Work Book, a guide to 7 types of rest,” The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) had a very purposeful message: “Rest isn’t a weakness, it’s a mental health need.”
Targeting women’s causes in particular, as it was International Women’s Day, Sarah Kennell, the organization’s VP of Policy Partnerships and Advancement suggested that “women’s mental health isn’t necessarily shaped by individual choices, but by the strength of our communities.” Not available equally to everyone, and framed as something we earn, rest often feels conditional, indulgent, or out of reach altogether for many women, particularly those who are caregivers for one or more individuals. Being a care provider is often relentless, unnoticed and unsupported. The opportunity to rest is often not pushed aside as they struggle with the needs of others.
The CMHA’s theme for 2026, Strong Enough to Rest, is an about time rally cry that’s particularly relevant for women who are caregivers. It invites us to think differently about women’s mental health – not as something women should manage alone but as something we build together as a society. And, their new Rest Book, a game-changing self-paced learning tool, is a must read for caregivers. It not only reframes rest as strength, and a mental health need rather than a personal failure but deems it, “something women deserve, not something they must justify.”
Don’t care another day without it. cmha.ca/rest
Publisher/Editor
Caroline Tapp-McDougall
caroline@bcsgroup.com
Image: Shutterstock
