One in five Canadians is living with mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression at any one time.
This number has climbed steadily in recent years, and while we have improved how we talk about mental health, significant stigma remains. In fact, people are almost three times less likely to report a mental illness than a physical one.
There are many effective mental health treatments available. However, access to diagnosis and treatment can take years. Sometimes prescriptions used to treat mood disorders have side-effects that can cause people to avoid or stop taking their medication. Traditional therapy can be costly and is not always covered by insurance or benefits.
