It's time we open up and talk about mental illness.
“Suicide rates continue climb,” published in this week's Gazette, indicates the number of suicides in Alberta is on the rise. In 2010 there were 523 suicides in Alberta (three of them out-of-province residents), including 104 in the south rural area, which includes both Mountain View and Red Deer counties, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
By way of comparison, there were 487 suicides in 2009, 490 in 2008, 473 in 2007, 458 in 2006 and 427 in 2005. In 1990 there were 400, 395 in 1985, 400 in 1980 and 287 in 1975.
The Mood Disorder Society of Canada (MDSC) reports that 90 per cent of people who commit suicide have a diagnosable mental illness. Suicide is the leading cause of violent deaths in Canada, with 4,000 a year. The 2009 report also goes on to say 43 per cent of Albertans believe depression is caused by a weakness of character.
MDSC has named stigma as the No. 1 issue that prevents people from asking for help because they are ashamed of what others will think of them.
Recognizing that one in five people will suffer from a mental illness at one point in their life is key to moving forward.
Tomorrow, Bell's Let's Talk awareness campaign culminates. Five cents from every text and long-distance call will go toward programs dedicated to mental health. This is the second of a multi-year campaign Bell Canada kick-started as a means to face the elephant in the room.
“Talking about mental illness is the first and best thing we can do to gain a better understanding of mental health,” said Bell Let's Talk Day spokesperson Stefie Shock. “I am open about my anxiety disorder, and I want to get everyone to start talking openly about mental health issues. The stigma surrounding mental illness is one of the main barriers to getting treatment.”
Though this is the second year Bell has initiated its campaign, this May will be the 61st year the Canadian Mental Health Association has held its mental illness awareness week.
There is still a misconception that people cannot recover from mental illness or participate in their communities. They're considered to be just too “crazy.”
The Mental Health Commission of Canada, started in 2007 after the first-ever national study of mental health, mental illness and addiction was undertaken in 2003, revealed a need for an ongoing national focus.
Results from a 2010 anti-stigma program, Opening Minds in Ontario, show that talking openly about discrimination and stigma works.
An individual shared his experience with mental illness and the discrimination he experienced from health-care practitioners. Following the workshop, there was a 25 per cent increase among participants who agreed employers should hire people with a mental illness, a commission review showed. There was also an increase of 40 per cent in those who said they would be willing to admit to colleagues that they had a mental illness. Additionally, 35 per cent more participants believed that it is their responsibility to encourage recovery in people with a mental illness.
Talking is going to bring down the walls of discrimination. We need to make mental health a topic of conversation not something to shy away from. People who need help, need to know where to turn, instead of being too afraid to ask.
The commission suggests one out of every four to five employees is affected by mental-health issues every year. Many workers choose to go untreated rather than risk being labelled as “unreliable, unproductive, and untrustworthy.” In total, 500,000 people a day in Canada miss work due to psychiatric reasons. Mental illness costs the Canadian economy an estimated $33 to $50 billion per year in lost productivity.
Facts aside, silence is causing too large a divide for that one in five.
