Dr. Hiram Mok says that the more Westernized a person is, the more likely they are to seek help for mental health issues. Photo courtesy of Dr. Hiram Mok
One in five Canadians will experience a mental illness during their lifetime, but only a third of these people will receive the treatment they need when the time comes. For many the stigma attached to mental illness remains a significant barrier to seeking help. Melanie Rose, a Vancouverite diagnosed with bipolar disorder, has experienced this within her own family.
“I have an aunt,” says Rose. “She’s a wonderful aunt, I love her to pieces. She’s 86, but she believes that you should just pull up your socks and get to work, and just get on with it. She believes that there is no such thing as depression and mental illness. She doesn’t think that that really exists. It’s more a sign of weakness.”
However, according to a recent study, one of the biggest barriers to seeking help for those who struggle with mental illness may not be as great in Vancouver as elsewhere in North America.
“A lot of studies from North America are showing that acculturation plays a very important role, so the more acculturated you are, or more westernized you are, the more likely [you are] to seek mental health help,” says Hiram Mok, medical manager of the Vancouver Coastal Health Psychiatry Outpatient Program and one of the authors of the study.
Surprisingly, Mok and his associates found that in Vancouver there was no link between how westernized a person is and how likely he or she is to seek help. Cutting across political and cultural boundaries, it appears that in Vancouver it is more about the people themselves and not their cultural backgrounds.
The study looked at the Chinese Canadian population in Vancouver, which makes up 46 per cent of the total visible minority population, and found that barriers to seeking mental health help were not associated with how much a person identified with Canadian or Chinese culture.
Instead, there were barriers based on factors like education and age. The study found that people who had completed more than 12 years of education had higher attitudinal barriers to seeking treatment. In other words, more educated people were less likely to seek help when dealing with mental illness. According to Mok, this may be because they are more likely to be in denial.
Melanie Rose, diagnosed with bipolar disorder, knows all about mental illness stigmas. Photo by Jayne Drew
Age is another factor that seems to be associated with likelihood to seek treatment. As Rose has experienced, older people are more likely than younger ones to have stigmatized attitudes towards mental illness.
Mok suggests the difference in age groups may be because younger people are more attuned to their emotions. Younger patients tend to come much earlier for treatment, have a better prognosis and are more likely to follow through with treatment.
While his study was based on the Chinese Canadian population, Mok stresses that his findings apply to everyone. He calls for more education at the community level to help break down these many attitudinal barriers to seeking help.
“It’s important to do more psychoeducation to reach out to [people with attitudinal barriers], because these are people who actually don’t come for help, and they are actually the ones who are in dire straits,” he says. “There is a big stigma, and how you get past the stigma is by talking about it, by normalizing it, because it is quite normal.”
The lack of understanding around mental illness can be extremely isolating says Yasmin, who has been diagnosed with a mood disorder and severe anxiety. She asked that we not print her last name or photo.
“It’s hard when you are living with [a mental illness], but also with a family that doesn’t recognize it,” says Yasmin.
For others, having family and friends who are aware of mental health issues makes a huge difference. Jari Wilkman, who was diagnosed with high-functioning autism, depression and anxiety, is grateful that his mother was so knowledgeable about these issues.
Jari Wilkman uses comedy to cope. Photo by Jayne Drew
“When it came time for me to go out and get help on my own, I had the knowledge and tools to recognize when I needed help,” says Wilkman.
Recovery can be a long and difficult process, but having the proper support helps enormously. This may mean medication, which for some people can be the difference between life and death.
“I recognize that if I didn’t take the medication, I wouldn’t be here right now,” says Yasmin.
For others, support means talk therapy or having a good social network. An outlet that brings people together and allows them to share their experiences and struggles with mental health is enormously helpful.
For Rose, Yasmin, and Wilkman, Stand Up for Mental Health has had a massive impact on their recovery. This is a program that brings people with mental illnesses together to do stand-up comedy and connect with each other.
“Doing comedy has been a lifesaver in a lot of ways,” says Rose. “It’s like I finally got to be heard.”
For many people, mental illness is a frightening topic.
“Fear comes from lack of understanding,” says Wilkman.
One place where people can educate themselves about health and wellness, both physical and mental, is the 9th annual Vancouver Diversity Health Fair. The fair aims to break the silence around mental health issues and bring awareness of healthy lifestyles to people of all cultures. The fair will take place on March 9th at the Croatian Cultural Centre, and everyone is welcome at this free event.
Programs like Stand Up for Mental Health, the Diversity Health Fair and the community outreach that Mok advocates can start to break down the barriers of stigma so that people who need help feel comfortable enough to get it. It’s time to start talking – and even laughing – about mental health.
***
To find out about upcoming Stand Up shows, visit http://www.standupformentalhealth.com. To learn more about the Vancouver Diversity Health Fair, visit http://www.amssa.org/programs/multicultural-health/diversity-health-fair/healthfair2013.
