Matt Dionne | Sports and Health Editor
Featured illustration by Christopher Lai
One in five Canadians will experience a mental illness first-hand in their lifetime. An estimated 10 to 20 per cent of Canadian youth are affected by mental illness. Approximately five per cent of male youth and 12 per cent of female youth have experienced a major depressive incident.
Despite the fact that nearly 80 per cent of cases can be treated, nearly half—49 per cent—of people who feel they are suffering from, or have suffered from, depression or anxiety don’t seek help. As a result, Canada has the third-highest suicide rate for youth in the industrialized world, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association, or CMHA.
Part of the reason people don’t seek treatment is because of the stigma surrounding mental health.
“Stigma or discrimination attached to mental illnesses presents a serious barrier, not only to diagnosis and treatment, but also to acceptance in the community,” according to CMHA.
Though there have been countless organizations emerging that are dedicated to removing the stigma surrounding mental health, there are people who don’t believe there is any stigma. One of Excalibur’s readers even sent a letter to the editor claiming there’s only a stigma as long as people say there’s a stigma.
Unfortunately it’s not that simple. The reason there’s a stigma is because people feel afraid to talk about their mental health—that’s why it’s been dubbed the silent killer.
Fortunately, we are finally starting to speak out and raise our voices.
In September 2010, Bell launched a new initiative they called Bell Let’s Talk Day. The goal at the time was to start a conversation about mental health and break through the stigma that surrounds mental illness.
On Bell Let’s Talk Day, people send messages and tweets showing support for those suffering from mental illness while raising awareness of the importance of seeking help. For every message, Bell donates 5 cents to mental health programs.
Since the first Bell Let’s Talk Day, it has become a massive social media movement. In 2016, Canada’s number one Twitter hashtag was #BellLetsTalk. There were a record 126 million messages and Bell donated $6.3 million to various mental health programs.
Although Bell Let’s Talk Day is a great initiative, it’s important to remember that mental illness is an issue that plagues us year round. We need to continue to speak out about the importance of spotting the signs of mental illness and encourage the people we care about to speak up and seek the help they need.
We need to let others know that suffering from a mental illness isn’t a sign of weakness and neither is seeking help. We need to let others know that they’re not alone.
So today, give someone a call, send a text, compose a tweet, post on Instagram, go live on Facebook, record a video on Snapchat and let the people in your life know that they’re not alone in their struggle and together we can beat mental illness.
