Case Study Of Mental Illness In Canada

Each year one in four people aged 15 to 20 will be diagnosed with a mental illness in Canada., but only 25 per cent will seek help. For too long, Todd Devlin was a part of the majority. After dealing with his parents’ divorce and his transition to university, Devlin noticed something different about himself. The McMaster undergraduate stopped attending classes only to sit at home in misery. “In my third year of university, I struggled big time,” said Devlin in an email interview. “There were a couple months where I was pretty much housebound, other than showing up for important tests. A combination of major depression and anxiety had me pretty non-functional.” Devlin, now 34, recently spoke to Western University’s Media and Mental Health class where he shared his story alongside Cynthia Gibney, manager of health services at Western. Gibney presented the class with alarming facts from the National College Health Assessment Survey in 2013. “Of the respondents, a large percentage reported being very lonely” said Gibney. “This shocked me with the perception of how socially active students are and how many options for engagement there are available.” To be exact, 59.7 per cent of men and 69.8 per cent of women felt “very lonely” in the last 12 months. However, it was not loneliness that challenged Devlin’s mental …show more content…
Last year in London, he started a walk called “Defeat Depression,” a campaign to help fight the stigma of mental illness and raise some much-needed funds for two valuable mental health organizations in the community: the London and District Distress Centre and Connect for Mental Health. The Londoner raised nearly $25,000 and plans on organizing and participating in the walk again. “Spreading the message to kids and young people that mental illness exists and if you think you may be struggling, talk to somebody,” said