Mental Illness Awareness Week
October 2nd - 8th is National Mental Illness Awareness Week. Raising our voices and sharing stories is more important than ever as the national statistics and numbers around mental illness are rising.
Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) is an annual national public education campaign designed to help open the eyes of Canadians to the reality of mental illness. The week was established by the Canadian Psychiatric Association and is now coordinated by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) in cooperation with all its member organizations and many other supporters across Canada. You can learn more about their work here.
In order to shed some light on this topic, we’re sharing with you just a few facts about mental health in our society:
1 in 3 Canadians say they struggle with mental health - Angus Reid Institute, 20221 in 3 Canadians say that depression and anxiety are a major problem within their social circle – Angus Reid Institute, 20221 In 3 Canadians will be affected by mental illness in their lifetime – Statistics Canada, 202232% of Canadians aged 18 to 34 say they need mental health care but can’t access it – Maru Public Opinion, 202217% of Canadians feel they need professional mental health care but can’t access it - Maru Public Opinion, 2022
October 10 - World Mental Health Day 2022
Marking World Mental Health Day 2022 on October 10th, the World Health Organization's call to action is an appeal to all countries to make mental health and well-being for all a global priority.
Since the COVID pandemic hit many aspects of mental health have been challenged. The World Health Organization states on its website that an estimated one in eight people globally were already living with a mental disorder before the pandemic.
“Stigma and discrimination continue to be a barrier to social inclusion and access to the right care; importantly, we can all play our part in increasing awareness about which preventive mental health interventions work and World Mental Health Day is an opportunity to do that collectively. We envision a world in which mental health is valued, promoted and protected; where everyone has an equal opportunity to enjoy mental health and to exercise their human rights; and where everyone can access the mental health care they need,” is written as the part of the appeal and you can learn more about the World Mental Health Day here.
