Analysis of Mental Health in Canada

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Close to six million Canadians live with mental illness; let alone the thousands that are undiagnosed. Mental illness has made big headlines in the news in the recent years. The people suffering from mental illness have been faced with discrimination a caused by a stigma towards them. Mental illness can be caused by many different factors whether they are psychological or environmental. Although only twenty percent of Canadians personally experience mental illness in their lifetime, it affects everyone in their lives. Many of the people suffering from mental illness live their lives in silence because of the stigma attached to the illness. They would rather nobody know about their condition than face the stigma and discrimination of the public. Society has come a long way from a hundred years ago when they would use trepanation. Trepanation is a primitive method used to heal head injuries; they truly believed that carving a hole in ones skull would release any mental injuries the patient had. A decade ago people suffering from mental illness were treated as if they were less than others. Now a days, people suffering from mental illness are not treated as poorly as before, they have larger support group than before, and society is more understanding of mental illness now. However, there is still much room for improvement. Mental health can described as being the psychological state of someone who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioural adjustment; this refers to our mental and emotional well-being. Once hearing that someone is mentally unhealthy, or has a mental illness, usually their first reaction is one of concern, fear, or confusion. Mental illness was present as soon as human beings stepped foot... ... middle of paper ... ...a and Mental Illness • Social Justice Solutions." Socialjusticesolutions.org, 2012. Web. 13 Jan 2014. . Unknown. Phac-aspc.gc.ca, 2014. Web. 6 Jan 2014. . Unknown. "Mental Health | Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario Division." Ontario.cmha.ca, 2014. Web. 13 Jan 2014. . Unknown. 2014. Web. 3 Jan 2014. . Unknown. "Causes of Mental Illness." Webmd.com, 2014. Web. 13 Jan 2014. . Unknown. "What Is Cancer? - National Cancer Institute." Cancer.gov, 2014. Web. 13 Jan 2014. .

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