Chapel Hill, NC
A new study out of London is exposing what advocates say has long been hiding in plain sight: a quiet mental health crisis among women over 50.
Researchers with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy surveyed more than 2,000 women across London and found that nearly 2/3 say they are struggling with their mental health after turning 50. Even more alarming, 87% said they are hiding those struggles rather than speaking openly about them.
For Jacqueline “Jack” Perez, the founder of Kuel Life, a platform that elevates the voices, expertise, and authority of women over 50, the most striking number was not how many women are struggling.
Perez, a pro-aging champion working to normalize aging, says it was how many are suffering quietly.
“The number that wrecked me wasn’t the 2/3 who are struggling. It was the 87% who are hiding it,” Perez said.
Perez founded Kuel Life to challenge the cultural narrative that women lose relevance as they age and to create visibility and authority for women over 50 whose voices are often overlooked.
She says the biggest misconception about turning 50 is that the disruption women experience is about appearance or hormones.
“Everyone assumes the crisis of turning 50 is physical. The mirror, the body, the hormones. But we didn’t go silent because we hate how we look. We went silent because we were raised to believe that our emotional needs were a burden.”
The consequences of that silence can be severe. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide rates among women 45 to 59 are the highest of any female age group.
Perez says the real challenge now is changing the cultural expectation that women carry their struggles quietly.
“What needs to change is simple and nearly impossible,” Perez said. “We have to make it safe to say ‘I am not okay’ without it costing us something.”
Jacqueline “Jack” Perez is available for commentary.
For media inquires please contact Heather Bucciano at Bucciano Communications
Phone: 954-546-4043
Last modified: March 19, 2026
