When former Conservative Saskatchewan MP Dave Batters announced last year that he was leaving politics, he also revealed something far more personal – that he was battling depression and anxiety, and had fought an addiction to prescription medications.
Unfortunately, Batters lost his battle last week, when he took his own life. But just as he helped to raise the profile of depression and mental illness during his life, his death could help highlight the sometimes devastating effects of an illness that remains heavily stigmatized.
Indeed, despite the efforts of Batters and others, depression and other forms of mental illness are still often viewed and treated differently from other forms of illness.
According to a 2008 survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid for the Canadian Medical Association, only 50 per cent of respondents said they would tell friends or co-workers about a diagnosis of mental illness, compared with 72 per cent who would reveal a diagnosis of cancer.
The reluctance to reveal the existence of psychiatric problems is understandable given that 42 per cent of respondents were uncertain if they would socialize with a friend diagnosed with mental illness, while 27 per cent said they would feel fearful around someone who is mentally ill.
This stigma profoundly influences the likelihood that people will seek help: Although 89 per cent of respondents said that mental illness requires treatment by a professional, 40 per cent maintained that if they thought they were ill, they would try to deal with it themselves.
These are troubling results given that eight per cent of Canadians will experience major depression during their lifetimes, and 12 per cent will battle an anxiety disorder.
And while these illnesses are treatable, the failure to access treatment increases the likelihood of suicide, drug addiction, poverty and homelessness. Indeed, depression is the most common diagnosis of addicts living on the street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. In addition, untreated mental illness puts people at greater risk of developing medical conditions, such as heart disease and cancer, which are not as readily associated with psychiatric disorders.
In other words, untreated mental illness negatively affects every aspect of a person’s life. But it also affects the lives of others, including the friends and family members of those diagnosed (or undiagnosed).
In fact, it affects everyone. Depression is a disease of the young, affecting people who would otherwise be in the prime of their lives. It is therefore one of the most common causes of disability, resulting in the loss of 35 million workdays and $51 billion annually in Canada alone.
But amid all this bad news, there is much positive to report. Depression and many other forms of mental illness are treatable, and many people can and do go on to lead happy and healthy lives.
But for everyone to take advantage of the benefits of treatment, we need to destigmatize mental illness and ensure that sufficient treatment is available.
As for the former, the Mental Health Commission of Canada has embarked on a 10-year destigmatization campaign. And as for the latter, mental health remains underfunded compared to other illnesses.
Further, a just released survey conducted for the Mood Disorders Society of Canada found that physicians, while aware of the impact of depression, don’t always use the tools available to monitor and treat mental illness.
This suggests that we need to educate everyone about mental illness – the public, so they don’t stigmatize themselves or others; physicians, so that the treatment they provide for mental illness is on par with treatment for other medical conditions; and government and policy makers, so mental illness research and treatment receive the funding they deserve.
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