The rise of mental health issues in young people may be partially attributed to a diminishing stigma regarding seeking support.
According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, one in five people in Canada will experience a mental health problem or illness.
The association also states 50 per cent of the population will have or have had a mental illness by the time they are 40-years-old.
Many studies including, Increasing Rates of Depression, published by the Journal of the American Medical Association state that younger generations are seeing much higher numbers of individuals struggling with mental illness, but this may also be attributed to a diminishing stigma around receiving help for these issues.
Ashley Burke, the accessibility specialist at Lethbridge College says there has been an increase in the number of students reaching out to accessibility services when they need it.
“I think there is still a stigma out there and we are trying to combat that and make sure that students are receiving the support they need, but I think that because the word is out there, more students are more likely to come and see us.”
Burke says the staff in the accessibility department have gone through Applied Suicide Intervention Skill Training (ASIST) and will continue to partake in other training opportunities as they are available.
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Yolanda Peters was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) at the age of 24, after struggling with anxiety and depression from the age of four-years-old.
The Lethbridge resident said many members of her family struggle with symptoms of the disorder, but the older the generations got, the less likely they were to recognize it or seek help.
“I started to talk to my cousins and we all have the same patterns as my mother and my grandmother…My mom is a lot more open to hearing me out than my grandma is and it’s definitely a generational thing.”
Peters added she believes issues with mental illness may be more prominent in younger generations, but these age groups also have more encouragement to seek the help they need.
Those struggling with their mental health are encouraged to seek help by calling the Alberta Mental Health Association crisis hotline at 1-888-787-2880.
