I have a confession to make: the word “awareness” makes me a little bit sick.
Whenever mental health awareness days or weeks – such as last week – come around, it makes me a little bit salty on the inside.
I am all for opening up the discussion surrounding mental health, but I think it is time to take it to the next level. Maybe I am biased, but I feel that there has been enough talk, and now is the time for action.
A couple of years ago I was pumped that Bell Let’s Talk day was gaining so much traction, but as time goes on, I become more pessimistic about awareness campaigns.
Three and a half years ago, I had an immediate family member die by suicide, and I think if there were better resources available to her, she would still be here with us today.
I watched my mom suffer for years before her eventual death, and there was never much that my siblings or I could do about it.
Add three more varieties of drugs to your daily diet of various pills, the doctors would say, go to the hospital if you are immediately at risk of hurting yourself.
Obviously these things did not help.
My mother was taken to the hospital after a friend called 911 a few months before her successful suicide attempt, and while she was safe from harming herself there for a couple of days, she was basically an inmate during her hospital stay.
Afterwards, she was sent home and nothing changed.
Hospital stays are not the answer, and while prescription drugs can help, they are not always the answer for everybody, and some cannot even access them due to socioeconomic barriers.
The basic truth of the matter is, people are dying because there are not enough resources to help those who are mentally in pain. Help lines, drugs and hospitals only go so far.
Oftentimes Canadians do not have access to the resources they need, as provinces do not cover therapy delivered in private practices. Drugs cannot be prescribed by psychologists. Even if you have work-related benefits, they may not be enough.
The government needs to invest in widespread mental health resources that align with what current research suggests.
Creating awareness and reducing the stigma of mental illness is important, but then what? Even if people are comfortable enough to step out and say “I need help,” what happens when they can not find the held they require?
This is not to say there are no resources. There is help out there, but there needs to be more.
On a final note, I am not a mental health professional or doctor by any means, so if you are reading this and are at risk of hurting yourself, please do not take this article as advice on your care plan.
