‘I’m Not Sick. I’m Burnt Out’: A Narrative Inquiry Into Productivity and Trauma Among Canadian Women Academics

Filling a gap in the literature on women's trauma and productivity, this research offers insightful knowledge about women's mental health and well-being. Given that more than 50% of women have experienced trauma and women are twice as likely as men to develop posttraumatic stress disorder, there is an urgent need for ongoing systematic research on women's experiences with trauma. Despite the prevalence of trauma, especially among women, very little research exists regarding how women academics cope with trauma. Utilizing narrative inquiry and a feminist theoretical framework, this qualitative study provides insight into the nexus between productivity, women's mental health, and trauma within the context of academia. Semi-structured interviews with a range of academic women ( n = 12) from Ontario, Canada, university campuses situate productivity as a gendered, empowered form of resistance and as an incredibly complex trauma response. Analyses of the qualitative data contribute to theoretical discussions around the multidimensional and gendered nature of women's trauma, productivity, and mental health within academia.