Stigma remains as world celebrates Mental Health Day
KAMLOOPS — It’s World Mental Health Day today, an opportunity to raise more awareness about our mental well-being.
One in five Canadians suffer from a mental illness, including in Kamloops. Medical experts say we’ve made strides in terms of reducing the stigma around mental illness, but they add there’s a long way to go, making World Mental Health Day that much more important.
“It’s important we keep raising awareness about mental health. People do think about mental health issues, do talk about mental health issues more than when I started,” said Interior Health’s Medical Director for Mental Health and Substance Use Dr. Paul Dagg. “But we know that, for example, one in three Canadians with a mental health condition get help, which means two out of three don’t.”
Dagg says stigma and a general lack of knowledge or resources stops people from getting the help they need.