One in Five

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, mental illness affects all Canadians at some point in their lives either directly or through a family member, friend, or colleague. Twenty percent of Canadians will personally experience mental illness in their lifetime. Twenty percent. One in five.

You would think that with the statistics being what they are there wouldn't be such a stigma associated with mental illness. Yet that stigma continues to make it a difficult subject to address. It is easy to empathize with someone enduring a physical illness that has obvious symptoms and consequences. The same consideration rarely gets extended to mental illness. Those afflicted tend to suffer in silence.

An adequately funded mental health support system continues to elude us so I doubt we will see a shift in public perception of mental illness anytime soon. Those suffering will, in the most part, continue to suffer in silence.

My heart goes out to the families of mental health sufferers. They understand that the perception of reality for a person suffering from a mental illness can be vastly different than what the majority of us perceive and that difference induces many reactions that may be inappropriate for the circumstance at hand. The patience and love that families show as they face the frustration of the situation is a testament to the range of human endurance and the very definition of compassion.

“Most people, if you live in a big city, you see some form of schizophrenia every day, and it's always in the form of someone homeless. 'Look at that guy - he's crazy. He looks dangerous.' Well, he's on the streets because of mental illness. He probably had a job and a home.” - Eric McCormack (b. 1963)