Mental Health Benefit Plans

Do you know that mental illness affects 1 in 5 Canadians in their lifetime? Yes, it’s unbeatable statistics from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) – a psychiatric teaching hospital with central facilities located in Toronto and ten community locations throughout the province of Ontario. According to CAMH:

• Mental disorders are the number one cause of disability in Canada
• 70% of mental illnesses first appear in childhood or adolescence
• Mental illness affects people of all ages, education levels, incomes and cultures
• 8% of adults will experience major depression during their lives
• 5% of Canadians experience anxiety
• 10-20% of Canadian youths suffer from mental illness
• Only 1 in 5 youths receive treatment for it
• Mental illness can lead to suicidal thoughts and actions
• The suicide rate for Canada’s aboriginal youth is 6 times the national average

What Is Mental Illness?

Mental illness is the reduced ability for a person to function effectively over a prolonged period of time. Mental disorders are defined as conditions that cause distress or disability, mental or emotional dysfunction and behavioural issues that result in the suffering, pain, sadness, disability or in extreme cases, the death of a person.

Common mental illnesses include:

• bipolar disorders
• eating disorders
• alcohol and drug addiction
• Alzheimer’s and dementia
• anxiety and depression
• developmental disabilities
• mood and personality disorders
• schizophrenia and psychosis
• trauma and stress disorder
• suicidal thoughts or behaviour

People affected with mental illness may not be able to cope with the simplest aspects of everyday life.

Mental illness usually begins during adolescence and young adulthood. However, mental illness can be experienced by people of all ages and cultures, from all educational and income levels.

Mental illness is not the same as feeling distressed because of normal reactions to difficult situations, such as the death of a loved one or a romantic breakup. Most of us are able to regain control of our lives after a difficult situation. But those with mental illness feel distress regularly. They may feel powerless to regain control.

The most severe instances of mental illness can be successfully treated.

Protect Your Family with Health Insurance

Once unspoken and hidden, today mental illness is being recognized as the serious problem. Whereas in the past most people with a mental illness suffered in silence, this is becoming less the case now. More people than ever before, including celebrities, professionals, big corporations and mental health advocates are talking about mental illness, and bringing it into the public consciousness.

Plans offer a mental health benefit to help cover the cost of treatment from a variety of specialized registered professionals including psychologists, marriage and family therapists, social workers and more.

Protect your family with proper health insurance coverage. It’s customizable, covers exams, cleanings and more and can save you hundreds of dollars.

References:

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/about-mental-illness.html
https://www.camh.ca/en/Driving-Change/The-Crisis-is-Real/Mental-Health-Statistics
https://www.manulife.ca/campaigns/health-and-dental/its-a-new-day-for-mental-illness.html