By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
In any given year, one in five Canadians will experience a mental illness.
Lower income people are hardest hit, with studies indicating that between 23 to 67 per cent of homeless people may be affected.
Mental illness and substance use disorders account for anywhere from 11 to 15 per cent of Ontario’s disease burden.
About 4,000 Canadians die from suicide annually – approximately 11 per day.
After accidents, suicide is the leading cause of death for young people aged 15 to 24.
Those are just some of the statistics compiled by the Canadian Association for Mental Health with regard to the wide array of mental health issues that cost Canada $50 billion per year.
And while the issue is complex, Chatham-Kent’s acting medical officer of health said CK Public Health has strategies in places to promote mental wellness in the community.
“It’s a complicated issue,” said Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, nothing there are people with serious psychiatric illness such as bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia and major depression who are best managed by their physicians as they may require medication and treatment plans.
“The burden of psychiatric illness is significant in our community and province wide,” he added.
But from the Public Health point of view, Nesathurai said there’s more focus on the mental wellness of the community, adding an approach is needed to afford people the opportunity to “live their best life” even though they don’t have a discernable or diagnosed mental illness.
“When we talk about mental wellness, part of mental wellness is giving people the capacity to deal with life’s adversities and also allow them to continue on using their time on activities they consider important,” he said, such as going to school and work or being a caregiver.
Nesathurai outlined three key components to promote mental wellness, including engaging in regular physical activity. That is sometimes hard, the doctor said, as people have to find time and sometimes spend money to build into their lives.
“Generally speaking, physical activity is likely to enhance mental wellness,” he said.
Social connectivity is also important for mental health, Nesathurai said.
“We live in a time where people are more socially disengaged than ever,” he explained, noting effects of the pandemic contributed to less social connectivity.
“Anything that we can do to enhance human-to-human interaction, I think will be a good thing,” he said, especially as society moves forward to try to “learn to live with Covid.”
Another key aspect to try and improve mental wellness is to decrease the use of both legal and illegal substances, Nesathurai stressed.
Even though substances such as alcohol and marijuana are legal, they, in some ways, diminish mental wellness, he added.
“It’s important to recognize that we want people to reduce the use of substances, but also recognize that sometimes the use of substances is a form of community,” he stated.
As people reduce their use of substances, there has to be other venues to social connectivity, Nesathurai said, noting people need to find new ways to connect and communicate with others.
