Canada's Chatham Daily News calls the question:
Why does society not want to talk about mental illness? Why is mental illness such a source of so many flippant remarks or cruel jokes? There is a lack of understanding in our society to the degree that two thirds of those experiencing a mental illness do not seek help or will not talk about what they are going through because of their fears of being rejected or stigmatized.
And yet we all know someone who has experienced or are experiencing such difficulties. Remember: one in five people [will be diagnosed with mental illness at some point in their lives].
Mental illness is real - so what can you and I do about it? There are many different kinds of services available, although in some communities while limited, there have been improvements over the last number of years. However, as a society we can all help by reducing the stigma. Mental illness is like any other illness - it is not caused because someone is weak, it is not always something that people will never recover from, it does not make people commit crimes, and it is not a result of being lazy.
The month of May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We'll be blogging more about it then. Stay tuned.
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