Analysis of Mental Health in Canada

Mental illness: Mental illness is a term that is used to describe a condition that affects many people, this condition is often a serious disorder in a person's behaviour or thinking. Mental illness affects around 10-25% of people living in the UK at some point in their life. [Sabp, 2015] There are many different types of mental illnesses; Examples of mental illness include depression, phobias, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, addictive behaviours and schizophrenia. Mental illnesses can range fro m minor illnesses such as having a phobia to being more severe such as having depression or anxiety. [Mayoclinic, 2015] All of these metal illnesses can be treated in some way however they can become a serious part of a

For many centuries, religious, spiritual and cultural beliefs preponderated societal actions and beliefs for those with mental illnesses. In ancient Greece, those with severe mental illnesses were abused because of the perpetuating belief that angry gods influenced them. Those suffering from mild mental illness faced disdain and humiliation. Prince (2003) even asserts “the cultural values of ancient Greece were precursors to the modern stigma that is associated with mental illness” (Kirby & Keon, 2004). In the middle ages, it was the belief that mental illness was routed to supernatural causes. It was believed that these individuals should be burned at the stake, hanged or decapitated to release their soul from being possessed by demons. The beliefs changed in the 17th and early 18th centuries to one that the physical state was impaired by those with mental illnesses because they had excessive passion they inflicted on themselves. These individuals were often physically restrained

Canada is proud as a nation of a multicultural society, one-third of its population are born Canadians and the rest are immigrants (Mikkonen et al, 2010). Immigrants in Canada experience poor living conditions that are affecting their health and overall well-being of the Canadian population (Mikkonen et al, 2010).Researchers of Statistics Canada have identified low-income status as the factor affecting the health of immigrants in all education levels including university graduates, and various age categories (Mikkonen et al, 2010). A qualitative study conducted using 147 families in low-income areas of Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto, highlights the struggle that immigrants experience in Canada’s labour market (Labonté et al, 2015). One of the main concern that the immigrants expressed in terms of their employment are the lack job security or insecurity and about half of them

The Canadian Mental Association says in any given year, 1 in 5 people in Canada will personally experience a mental health problem or illness. Among people that have died from suicide, it’s been estimated that 90% were experiencing a problem with mental health or illness. Yet nearly 60% of people under 25 who’ve receives treatment for mental illness report facing stigma and discrimination. Both of which been shown to be serious barriers to

Mental health disorders are highly prevalent in most of the countries and account of a large proportion of disease burden. In recent years, many countries have made the prevention of mental health disorders top priority, given the economic burden associated with the mental health disorders. Canadians seeking assistance for mental health problems face lengthy waiting lists for all most all mental health services. This contributes to over-crowding in emergency rooms and to resources wasted when problems become worse or people wait for service not appropriate to their needs. Delay in to service have had led to costly no-shows in many community mental health service providers and family service agencies. With limited resources mental service providers

The Canadian mental health association is an organization that was founded in 1918. An organization that is known today as one of the oldest voluntary facilities in Canada. CMHA is a nationwide organization that promotes the overall health of individuals as well as ensuring that their clients, viewers and those in need are each treated humanely despite their circumstance. Praising those individuals for their resilience and recovery experiencing and overcoming their individual mental health battle. In addition, CMHA is an organization that connects their clients and service users with many services like , educational opportunities, as well as offer advocacy and research. The mental health model/perspective

The Mental Health Commission of Canada, in its current form, shares knowledge of how mental illness impacts Canadians across the board – First Nations and Inuit, new Canadians, youth, seniors, and workers.

The authors of this paper begin by describing that although there is a high occurrence of children and adolescents with mental health disorders, Canada lacks certain policies and services in order to support mental health care. The authors examined the accessibility, substance and status of mental health care services and systems for youth in all provinces and territories of Canada. If policies did exist, they were assessed using the WHO (World Health Organization) framework. The results of this paper explain that only four provinces contain child and adolescent mental health policies and plans, however the policies and plans that do occur are lacking vital components. The authors continue by recommending better development of Canadian mental

A mental illness is an issue that affects one’s behaviour, emotions, thoughts and ability to interact with others (Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing 2007). Common mental illnesses in Australia include anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, eating disorders and personality disorders, with the most prevalent being anxiety disorders and depression. Anyone can develop a mental illness, although suffering from a chronic medical illness, experiencing a highly stressful or traumatic event, having a blood relation with a mental disorder or drug and alcohol use can increase one’s risk (Mayo Clinic 2015).

Mental health is defined as an individual’s optimal care in managing the stress of everyday life, through their own unique approach and can efficiently and successfully make vital contribution within the community they live in (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, 2013). Since a break in a person’s optimal mental state affects not only the individual but society, it is important to understand what it means to have a break in one’s state of mental health and the different categories that is associated with mental illness. Focus will also be paid to why there is a need for the reformation of the mental health act in Canada; the social determinants that is associated with mental health and their contribution to society’s health’s. Finally, focus also need to be placed on how mental health is being promoted to society the stigma generally associated with it.

It is estimated that 43.5 million Americans, adults 18 or older, live with mental illness. This number represents 18.1% of all U.S. adults (National Institute of Mental Health, 2014). Stigma toward those who are seen as different have existed for as long as civilization itself, with the stigma for mental illness being one of the most prominent and long lasting that society has had to face throughout its ages (Arboleda-Florez & Stuart, 2012). Increased understanding and awareness for those individuals suffering from mental illness is necessary for us to overcome the impacts stigma has on our society.

Mental health—and the stigma that comes along with it—is a very important issue, one of global importance. Shah and Beinecke explain that 450 to 500 million people suffer from mental illnesses (15). Just considering the amount of people who suffer from mental illness is enough to prove that this is a global issue. Despite the large amounts of people who are affected by mental illness, only one third of countries have some sort of program to help (15). This shows the lack of concern for those who suffer from mental illness. Stereotypes affect many people, and those with mental illness are no exception. Everyone has their own preconceived perspectives and notions of mental health, and many of them are uninformed and unjustified. It is up to us to start changing our viewpoints on mental health.

“I want to be able to talk to someone in a pub and say ‘I have been mentally ill’ and for them to say ‘That’s interesting, what did you experience?’”, said a survivor from the UK in 1997 (Sayce 18). Almost twenty years later and this man 's wish still has not come true. People may ask why, and the answer is because of the stigma that comes along with having a mental illness. Mental illness is something not often talked about because of the fear of being judged. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in every four Americans has a mental illness, and only about 40% of them seek professional help (Hamid). People are being put into mental institutions instead of getting the help that they need to get better, because even people in the medical field are not understanding about this situation because they do not understand how it feels. The stigma and stereotypes towards mental illnesses are overwhelming, therefore people should be made aware of their impact and take steps to reduce stigma and stereotypes.

In our society, there are those of us that require treatment for something other than broken bones or diseases. Mental health is one of those issues that few people are willing to face. If someone has a cast on their leg, you can see immediately what is wrong with them; with mental illness, it is difficult to know what to say, or do. In Canada, one in five people will suffer a mental illness. That translates into 4.5 million people, just in Canada. This is why we need to talk about Mental illness and try to remove the stigma.

Individuals with serious mental illness are doubly affected by their disease; not only do they experience the often debilitating symptoms of their condition, but they must also endure mundane mental health stigmas and prejudices. Stigmatized attitudes are perceived to be one of the greatest impediments to living a complete and fulfilling life. Stigma has been defined as a combination of three related problems: ignorance, prejudice and discrimination (Rose, Thornicroft, Pinfold, & Kassam, 2007). Ignorance implies a lack of knowledge, prejudice entails negative attitudes, and discrimination involves exclusionary actions against people deemed to be different. Two forms of stigma are commonly distinguished in literature. Public stigma describes the attitudes of society towards people with mental illness, while self-stigma results from the internalization of prejudice by people who suffer from mental health conditions (Corrigan, Powell, & Rüsch, 2012). The World Health Organization announced that stigma was the most crucial obstacle to overcome for a community to functioning effectively and efficiently (Ontario Hospital Association, 2013).