Three in five women across the West say they have experienced mental health issues which have had a negative impact on their lives, new research has revealed.

The report – titled Women Like Me: supporting wellbeing in girls and women – was launched yesterday by Platform 51 (formerly the YWCA), which helps girls and women of all ages and backgrounds across England and Wales.

It also revealed almost a third of women have taken time off work because of their problems while more than one in 10 have self-harmed.

The organisation said the research showed there were "generations of women in crisis", with 64 per cent of girls and women in the South West feeling low-level mental health problems have negatively affected their lives.

Often these problems are triggered by events many women will experience in their lives such as relationship breakdown, changing school, bereavement or debt.

Penny Newman, chief executive of Platform 51, said: "Women are often the linchpins of their families and their communities.

"If three in five of them aren't meeting their potential, they lose out, their family and friends lose out and so does the wider society."

The research, conducted with national pollsters Opinium LLP and focus groups, shows 23 per cent of women have lost friends as a result of their problems.

More than a quarter regularly drank enough to get drunk, nearly one in five have built up debt and more than a half did not leave the house for long periods of time.

The report goes on to highlight that millions of women are not getting the right kind of help with the high levels of mental health issues they are facing.

In the South West, 27 per cent of women whose lives have been negatively affected by low level mental health problems have never sought professional help, while 70 per cent say they feel doctors too readily turn to drugs to treat issues.

Ms Newman added: "Working with girls and women every day for more than 150 years now, we have seen time and time again how often mental health issues can prevent them from meeting their potential.

"Policy makers need to act now to address this crisis in women's mental health and provide a range of effective interventions."

Ms Newman explained: "We must put an end to the dependency culture that has built up around prescription drugs, giving women more choice and control over the support they receive.

"This research provides women with a platform to speak to policy makers and call for the changes that will improve the lives of women everywhere."