Every year, one in five Canadians is affected by mental illness. 20 per cent of Canadians will experience mental illness at some point in their lifetime. This has me wondering: Why are we so reluctant to speak more openly about this?

Mental illness is something that affects a person regardless of his/her income, cultural values or education. It’s something that has an affect on a person’s physical well being – not unlike the flu, or any other virus or disease. Have you ever seen that commercial Depression Hurts? It’s true.

When you’re physically ill, you are able to call in to work, or take some time off school to rest and get better. But what happens when you have an anxiety attack or an episode of depression? Do you lie and say you’re ill? Who do you talk to about this? How do you approach the subject?

A study by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) showed that only 23 per cent of Canadians would be willing to approach an employer over issues of mental health, 50 per cent wouldn’t even tell their friends. This leads me to believe that the number of Canadians affected by mental health each year is larger than what they’ve documented.

The stigma of mental health has Canadians fearful of how they might be perceived if diagnosed with a mental illness.  What do I mean by the stigma? I’m referring to the attitudes of individuals who feel that people with mental illness use it as an excuse for bad behaviour, or a crutch to be unproductive or even pitied; that if you have depression you’re weak, or automatically suicidal.

Shortly before Thanksgiving, my neighbor was hit hard by her depression and was forced to approach her boss as it was affecting her work performance. Her boss was very understanding and gave her the full weekend off to recover and come back refreshed Tuesday morning.

When I spoke with my neighbour later, she exclaimed what a relief it was not to have to worry about her reputation at work on top of the stress of everything else. Her employer even offered to help her with counseling services available through the company.  

As someone who struggles with mental health I thought, why couldn’t all employers be this understanding? What a relief it would be to not feel weak or ashamed of myself for having an anxiety attack. It should stand to reason that an employer would want his employees to be happy and productive. However, I too have found myself in a similar situation where I was forced to choose my mental health or my job.

According to the CMA, in any week over 500,000 Canadians are unable to work due to mental health related problems.

That being said, I suppose the first step towards awareness and change is for those afflicted with mental illness to come forward, sharing their stories to show the population the importance of mental well being and the way it affects performances in the workplace.

At least one fifth of the Canadian population is struggling with some form of mental illness as you read this. Let’s beat the stigma and ensure that life goes on for all of us in a healthy and positive way.  

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Every year, one in five Canadians is affected by mental illness. 20 per cent of Canadians will experience mental illness at some point in their lifetime. This has me wondering: Why are we so reluctant to speak more openly about this?

 Mental illness is something that affects a person regardless of his/her income, cultural values or education. It’s something that has an affect on a person’s physical well being – not unlike the flu, or any other virus or disease. Have you ever seen that commercial depression hurts? It’s true.

When you’re physically ill, you are able to call in to work, or take some time off school to rest and get better. But what happens when you have an anxiety attack or an episode of depression? Do you lie and say you’re ill? Who do you talk to about this? How do you approach the subject?

 A study by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) showed that only 23 per cent of Canadians would be willing to approach an employer over issues of mental health, 50 per cent wouldn’t even tell their friends. This leads me to believe that the number of Canadians affected by mental health each year is larger than what they’ve documented.

 The stigma of mental health has Canadians fearful of how they might be perceived if diagnosed with a mental illness.  What do I mean by the stigma? I’m referring to the attitudes of individuals who feel that people with mental illness use it as an excuse for bad behaviour, or a crutch to be unproductive or even pitied; that if you have depression you’re weak, or automatically suicidal.

Shortly before Thanksgiving, my neighbor was hit hard by her depression and was forced to approach her boss as it was affecting her work performance. Her boss was very understanding and gave her the full weekend off to recover and come back refreshed Tuesday morning.

 

When I spoke with my neighbour later, she exclaimed what a relief it was not to have to worry about her reputation at work on top of the stress of everything else. Her employer even offered to help her with counseling services available through the company.  

As someone who struggles with mental health I thought, why couldn’t all employers be this understanding? What a relief it would be to not feel weak or ashamed of myself for having an anxiety attack. It should stand to reason that an employer would want his employees to be happy and productive. However, I too have found myself in a similar situation where I was forced to choose my mental health or my job.

According to the CMA, in any week over 500,000 Canadians are unable to work due to mental health related problems.

That being said, I suppose the first step towards awareness and change is for those afflicted with mental illness to come forward, sharing their stories to show the population the importance of mental well being and the way it affects performances in the workplace.

At least one fifth of the Canadian population is struggling with some form of mental illness as you read this. Let’s beat the stigma and ensure that life goes on for all of us in a healthy and positive way.