For decades, countless Nova Scotians have suffered silently and unknowingly from the debilitating effects of mental illness. Afraid to be judged by family, friends or co-workers, they are reluctant to share their experience or ask for help. As a result they experience broken relationships, job loss, discrimination, homelessness, and sometimes death.
For years, professionals working in the mental health community have been trying to drive home the fact mental illness is a serious and often times debilitating disease. Like cancer, it steals our loved ones and can have a profound impact on families and whole communities. Yet continued stigma attached to mental illnesses presents a serious barrier not only to diagnosis and treatment but also to acceptance in the community.
In a report from the Surgeon General of the World Health Organization (WHO), it states the burden of mental illness on health and productivity throughout the world has long been profoundly under-estimated. Nearly two-thirds of all people with diagnosable mental disorders do not seek treatment. When people understand mental disorders are not the result of moral failings or limited will power, but legitimate illnesses responsive to treatment, much of the negative stereotyping may dissipate.
The reality is mental illness touches more people than we think.