Canadian students: 60% feel hopelessness

Mental health costs the Canadian economy $51 billion per year according to a publication recently released by the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations.  Of 30,00 Canadian college students surveyed about mental health, 60% expressed feelings of hopelessness, and 90% felt overwhelmed.  Unhappiness, anxiety, depression, lost sleep, drinking and alcoholism are symptoms of mental health issues broadly and among students.

If you’re like me you don’t know a lot about mental health.  Despite significant impact on my family, mental health remains something of a mystery to me, so I found the student focused publication interesting.  The provinces of Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia each contributed to the publication from different perspectives. Following are some highlites.

Until recently mental health promotion in Canada has been lacking. A stigma about talking mental health prevails. Early identification of issues, diagnosis, and mental health care is important. A systemic view of mental health supports is needed which addresses housing, justice, health, workplace, and other domains.  Financial stresses are significant for students so more cost-effective access to post secondary education is seen as part of the solution. Student assistance programs (SAP’s), similar to traditional employee assistance programs (EAP’s), are considered valuable complements to campus based supports provided by institutions.  Government funding of a full range of supports and initiatives is considered key to addressing the challenges of mental health.

Innovative approaches are emerging and are described in the publication.  Three specific initiatives which caught my eye include:  www.jack.org (a national network of young leaders transforming the way we think about mental health); www.defeatdepression.ca/anti-stigma (The Elephant in the Room anti-stigma campaign); and the familiar www.letstalk.bell.ca initiative.  The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA/ACAE) publication is worth a read, if only to raise your awareness.

Note: The image on this post is taken from the CASA publication