Ma
Why don't we talk more about mental health
in the African-American community?
Man:
♪ [light]
Mental health. It's a term that I'm sure
you've heard being used at school or on social media.
You know that it's important and that it's something
people are trying to raise awareness about,
but have you ever stopped to think about
what it really means? Let's dig into it.
This is
[swoosh]
Everyone has mental health, but what does that really mean?
What's the difference between feeling sad
and being depressed. Feeling nervous
versus having an anxiety disorder?
And what can you do to help?
[pop, swoosh]
To better understand this topic, I turned to a few experts.
Hi, my name's Jeremy Parkin and I'm a wellness
support worker with the Yukon First Nations
Education Directorate.
Hey, I'm Jennifer Khoury.
I'm a psychologist here in Halifax.
My name is Simone Saunders, and I'm a licensed therapist
in Calgary, Alberta.
So what is mental health?
Well, according to our experts,
it is a term used to describe our social
and emotional well-being.
Mental health is just as important as physical health
and needs to be taken care of just the same.
It is affected by many factors,
including your genetics, your physical health,
your life experiences and more.
We all have stress and we all have
mental health needs.
To take care of our mental health.
We have to balance out the stress.
If we think of us all having a stress bucket,
it gets filled up with different stressors.
Schoolwork, conflict with friends,
family, all different things fill up our bucket,
but if it gets to full,
it can lead to us feeling overwhelmed,
burnt out, or worse.
So to take care of our mental health,
we need to be able to relieve some of those stressors.
You can do that by getting regular sleep, eating well,
socializing with friends and family, going outside
and getting physical activity.
Anything that helps us feel good.
Imagine each time you relieve your stress,
a small hole is made in the bucket,
off loading the weight of all those stressors,
Keeping it all in balance is key to mental wellness.
Mental wellness is a lifelong process and is different
for everyone.
It doesn't mean always being happy,
but rather that you're able to manage well in your
day to day life.
Mental wellness is a spectrum that goes up and down
throughout our lives.
There may be another term you're hearing, mental illness.
Mental illness is one part of mental health.
According to a survey from 2012,
one in three Canadians will be affected by a mental illness
in their lifetime.
A mental illness is a diagnosis,
which may be determined by a doctor based on symptoms
and how they affect a person's life.
Mental illness is not the same as feeling distressed
because of normal reactions to difficult situations,
like losing a loved one,
or big changes like moving to a new school.
Everyone has feelings that can feel negative at times.
Like feeling sad or anxious, but not everyone
has a mental illness.
So mental illness involves mental health problems
that are really linked to high levels of distress
and or problems functioning in daily life.
Ainara: Sadness, for example,
is not a mental illness,
but if that sadness is paired with other symptoms
like tiredness, irritability, a lack of enjoyment
of things you used to enjoy,
then that could be depression.
Depression is a mental illness.
Another common mental health concern is anxiety.
Everyone can feel stressed or anxious at times,
but not everyone has an anxiety disorder.
Why are you making me so self-conscious right now?
Because I have to.
-Why? -Because I am anxiety.
People who are mentally ill can seek treatment,
that can be in the form of medicines, like antidepressants,
but that can also be in the form of therapy.
A combination of both drugs
and therapy is often recommended.
Some mental illnesses may only last for a certain
period of time, but many are lifelong
health conditions.
People who are mentally ill can live happy
and productive lives, but may just need
some extra support, like anyone living with a chronic illness.
It can be really difficult to talk about mental health
and mental illness.
Sometimes that can be because of something called stigma.
Stigmas are negative stereotypes.
Stigmas can lead to discrimination and they
can prevent people from seeking the help that they need.
One way we stigmatize mental illness
is with our language,
for example, calling people crazy or psycho
is stigmatizing language.
Even saying things like,
"I am OCD" can add to stigma.
Yeah, I actually have OCD.
Oh my god, girl, no, like same. I'm so OCD, ah.
No, I actually, I have--
OCD: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a real diagnosis
and making light of it can be harmful to those
who are actually living with it.
Some stigma comes from the fact that
you can't see a mental illness the same way you might
be able to see a physical illness or disability.
That's why they're often called invisible disabilities.
This can make people hesitant to believe that someone
is struggling and may even accuse them
of being overdramatic.
Talking about emotions can also be stigmatized.
Sometimes society and expectations make
you feel like you need to appear strong
and mental illness can be seen as weakness.
That is a huge stigma.
I think we just need to make sure that people are--
know that it's okay to not be okay is,
I think, the biggest stigma, you know.
Some communities may be at higher risk of dealing
with mental health difficulties and mental illness.
That can be because of a number of factors,
like having less money,
experiencing barriers because of race
and living in an area with less resources.
So what are some strategies for taking care
of mental health in all communities?
Well, first off is education.
Advocates say that everyone should know more
about mental health, mental wellness and mental illness.
That includes breaking down dangerous stigmas
and also spreading good information about
where to get help when you need it.
For kids, getting help with mental health concerns
can mean relying on adults in our lives,
but sometimes those adults lack education too.
Simone Saunders says that kids can bring home resources
from school or share what they find online
and start a conversation with their parents.
And so when the older people in your life
kind of have the foundation of information,
it's like, okay, this is what mental health is,
then it can be easier to start talking about your own
mental health and your own experiences.
A second strategy is access.
People need to be able to access programs
and treatments for mental health concerns.
Health care professionals and mental health advocates
have been raising alarm bells about the length of wait lists
for youth health care.
For example, a report from 2020 said that kids in Ontario
are waiting an average of 67 days for counselling
and therapy and 92 days for intensive treatment.
These sorts of waitlists are common across Canada
and is a big reason why advocates are asking governments
to provide more resources to support mental health care.
A part of access is also providing culturally
appropriate and community based approaches.
I think it's really important for everyone to feel like
they have a safe space to express themselves
and a safe space to, you know, be who they are.
As individuals, we can help each other out.
That can mean being supportive when people reach out for help
and it means treating people with mental illnesses
with care and kindness.
It also means treating our own mental health and wellness
with care and kindness.
♪ [chimes]
If you're in need of support, you can talk
to a trusted Adult, a school counsellor,
a health practitioner, or you can use services
like Kids Help Phone.
Mental health is a big deal,
but it's not as scary a topic as I thought.
What are some ways that you take care
of your mental health?
For me, I like to write, read, and try to fun new things.
Well, that's it for
For CBC Kids News, I'm Ainara Alleyne.
To make this video, I turned to expert interviews
and research. Thanks to Jeremy Parkin,
Simone Saunders and Jennifer Khoury,
who all appeared in the video.
Additional help came from Stacey Gawrylash,
some sources of research were
Statistics Canada
and the
[hoots]
♪ ♪